This Situation
by Jewel1001
Summary: Raven has allowed herself to feel more emotions, to let herself love him, and look where she is now. In this awkward situation, afraid to tell him her secret. But she will be showing soon, and Raven knows that she can't hide in her room forever ...
1. Prologue

Hazeru - My first story for Teen Titans, and it's RobinxRaven.

Hera - Her favourite couple.

Hazeru - Indeed. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Prologue

For most people, staying locked in their room for three days straight would be a bad sign. For Raven, it just meant that she had other things to think about.

These sort of situations - complicated ones, ones that nobody else would understand - caused her the same troubles that they'd cause anyone else, but she hid herself in her room and got away with it. Right now, Raven didn't want to see anyone. The rest of the Teen Titans knew better than to bother her while she was locked in her room, even Robin.

She wanted to see him least of all. He was the whole cause of her present, unavoidable situation.

If only she had said no. If only they had been more careful.

If only 'if only' made it all better.

This was one problem that she wasn't going to be able to fix herself, a situation that she couldn't get out of by using her powers or her personal knowledge.

It was the biggest problem of her life - second only to the prophecy that had followed her until she had overcome in a few years ago. Those were darker times. Times that she didn't care to remember.

And yet, that incident, fulfilling that prophecy and then standing up to her 'father' and banishing him … they had given her what she had always wanted. Her freedom. At last she was free of it, at last she didn't believe that she was evil deep inside her.

At last she had been free to let her emotions go a little, and let them go she had. She had kept control, of course, through carefulness and meditation. But she had allowed herself to feel more than she had ever felt before, let herself know foreign emotions.

One of which had been love.

Love. There had been a reason why she had never allowed herself to truly feel it, to feel it as strongly as she did nowadays. That reason hadn't been to keep her control or anything to do with her supposed destiny.

It was to stop herself from ever getting into this sort of situation!

/

The knock on her door came at around midday, and Raven looked up from the book she had been reading. Placing the hardback object on her bed, the frustrated teen walked to the door and opened it a couple of inches, enabling her to see out but not allowing them entrance to her guarded room.

Robin.

Of course. Who else had she been expecting?

"Hey, we haven't seen you around these past couple of days" Robin said, his tone a mixture of curiosity and worriment. "Anything you wanna talk about?"

"No" Raven said solemnly, ready to shut the door in his face - even after all this time, she didn't like her friends, not even Robin, to be in her room. It was still the haven of darker objects in the Tower, and she did what she did for their own safety. "Anything else?"

"Uhm … yeah, actually. We're going out for pizza. You wanna come?"

Despite herself, Raven actually considered it. It could be bearable to just sit in a restaurant and pretend that she was a perfectly normal teenager, one with no powers and no problems. But she knew that pretending would get her nowhere, and she had better things to do.

"Not today" she muttered, and this time she closed the door.

/

Her first trip out of her room for three days was a quiet one; easy to believe, seeing as the other four Titans were out getting pizza. She stood by the window and looked out at the ocean - had it always been so blue? Why was it she noticed things more when she was alone, when it was quiet?

A small smile ghosted her features, resembling faint happiness but not quite allowing it to surface.

The almost-smile was followed by nought but a sigh.

There was the everyday, normal option of getting rid of it. Robin would never have to know. She could go to a clinic, get it taken out of her and then she'd never have to think about it again. Nobody would ever know …

But it wasn't that simple. She'd know. And if she got rid of it, discarded it so easily, like it meant nothing, then wouldn't she be acting almost like her own parent had? Her father had used her, he hadn't cared for her.

Parenthood had never crossed Raven's mind. She had never expected the world to survive long enough for her to consider her options like that. When it had - when she had beaten her own destiny, and become truly good - she had thought of nothing but that she had her whole life ahead of her, that it was actually her life to control.

She had spent those couple of years well. She had saved the world again, aided her friends in their task of ridding their city of evil. She had tried to get along more with the three team members who were her friends. And most of all, she had finally established a working relationship with a man who she honestly loved.

"Robin" she whispered to no-one.

What was she going to tell him? Would he be happy about it? Would he even understand that it wouldn't be as simple for her as it would be for most females?

To get rid of the child would be to discard it as unimportant. It would be to do to the child what her own father had done to her.

She would not be like him. She was nothing like him. He was a monster, true evil, and she …

She was Raven. She was good.

She couldn't get rid of the child.

"What are you going to say?" Raven whispered, sadness crossing her face as she wondered how her lover was going to react. "What can I tell you?"

Raven loved Robin, she truly did. But she was aware that he had many goals and ambitions, and that a child would prove problematic and possibly - probably - get in the way. Would he want her to go through with it?

Did he get to have a say at all, or was it her choice alone?

/

It was late at night, when she was in her bed, staring at the dark ceiling in silence, that Raven finally made her decision.

She would keep it. She wouldn't get rid of this part of herself, this part of her that was a symbol of her achievements.

And she would tell Robin, eventually. Now was not the time.

She had not faced him, or any of the others, when they had returned. In fact, she had made sure to lock herself in her room once again before they had arrived home.

Raven knew that she couldn't hide forever, but for now, she would pretend that she could.

Her hand found its way to her flat stomach and laid there, her magic allowing her to feel the life slowly forming inside her …

Hazeru - I suppose you can all guess! ;)

Hera - Who are the bad guys in this story? Find out soon.

Hazeru - More on their relationship later, too.

Hera - R&R please. No flames.


	2. Chapter 1

Hazeru - Here's the first actual chapter, hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 1

Fighting evil was always a trying task, particularly when one member of the team refused to come with the others to the present site of destruction. An amateur criminal had stumbled into a medical lab and become infused with strange chemicals, much like the ones Beastboy and the villain Adonis had once encountered. He had then gone into town and tried to smash up a grocery store, of all places.

He had escaped them, this time, but Robin was certain that they would soon meet again.

They didn't know this new evil doer's name, but they'd learn it soon enough. It was easier to remember all the names of evil nowadays, since so many of them had fled or, in one way or another, been destroyed. People like the Brotherhood Of Evil - who, a couple of years ago, had caused them more problems than they could count - had been defeated for good about eight months ago. It had been a rather joyous occasion. In fact, the only evil doer that had remained a constant thorn in Robin's side was their old enemy Slade; he was still out there, lurking somewhere, and Robin knew that they'd meet again.

Maybe after they'd gotten rid of whatever new criminal they had encountered that day - the one that got away. After making sure all the innocent people were unharmed or in good care, they'd spent three hours tracking him before all traces had been lost and they had returned to the Tower in defeat.

The most annoying thing was that he might not have gotten away - had Raven been there.

Robin didn't understand what was going on with Raven.

For the past six weeks, she had been distant. She stayed in her room unless she was absolutely necessary to a mission, and even then she moved as if she was deep in thought, as if she truly didn't want to be there.

Raven had chosen to be a hero, to be a Titan. Why wouldn't she want to fight?

And it wasn't just that; she didn't seem to want to be with him any more, either. And that hurt.

Robin had been, since shortly after Trigon's defeat, Raven's lover. Well, it had been a long time before they had been technical lovers, since they had started sleeping together, but they had been dating. Robin had been only too pleased - more like euphoric with joy, if he was honest - to finally be able to tell Raven that he loved her.

At first she hadn't loved him, it had just been a crush. But over their months of dating, she had come to deeply care about him, and the day had inevitably come when she told him that she was in love with him. It had been about four months ago. After all the waiting for those words to be said, Robin had literally swept her off her feet and taken her on the most romantic evening that he could ever have thought of.

And that night, they had made love for the first time.

Since then, they had been steadily sleeping together - three or four times a week - and had even began talking about transforming a spare room in the Tower into 'their room'. Neither Robin nor Raven - the female in particular - was keen on the idea of giving up their separate rooms, but both agreed that it might be nice to have a room that was just for the two of them, where they could be together without feeling that they were invading the other's privacy.

And then, about six weeks ago, Raven had began to stop spending any time with him. He had asked her to go out with them for pizza, prayed she'd say yes, but she had said 'not today' and closed the door in his face.

In the six weeks that had followed, he had seen less and less of his girlfriend, and it was beginning to become more than a bit worrying. Either something was really wrong with her or he had found a way to upset her unknowingly. Robin just didn't know any more.

But he knew that he had to talk to her. All the times he tried, she shut the door and refused to come out, and barging straight into her room would just be rude and it would only antagonise her.

He had to speak with her, though. He loved her.

/

Two weeks of being none the wiser and then six of guarding her precious secret.

Raven was two months into her pregnancy, and so far she had no obvious signs. She could feel the magic inside her growing, however, and so she had a personal, constant reminder that she was with child. But nobody else knew.

Not even the baby's father.

_How do I tell him? What is he going to say? _Raven thought, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead in irritation. She had no idea how Robin was going to react, and she didn't know how she could possibly tell him that he was going to be a father when he wasn't even in his twenties yet. Neither was she, in fairness, but then Raven had never expected to live so long in the first place, she had always thought that she would be fairly young when Trigon decided to end the world. And she had been right; the only difference being that she had triumphed and had been rewarded with the freedom to do whatever she liked with her life.

And now, two years later, that was gone again. And she didn't even mind.

Raven had no words or thoughts that could possibly explain it. She didn't even like kids. She wasn't a motherly person. Starfire was the one who would coo over a baby in the street; Raven herself would be too busy thinking about how annoying its cries were.

So why did she honestly not mind that there was a baby forming slowly inside her womb?

A baby that was the Boy Wonder's child, no less.

It was all so complicated.

/

For the first time in six weeks, all five Titans were sitting at the breakfast table, and it was marked as a happy occasion despite the normality of it. Raven had opted to join them at last, and her four unsuspecting team members couldn't be happier.

Beastboy was telling jokes that were supposed to make her laugh - they didn't. Cyborg was cooking and serving up the breakfast and Starfire was experimenting to see what marmite lathered bacon tasted like when mixed with waffles covered in Worcester sauce. Robin was talking quietly with Raven, a smile on his face. Under the table, out of the eyes of the others, his hand was holding onto hers - he was a little surprised that she clutched onto him so fiercely, eating with one hand so that she didn't have to let him go. It wasn't like her to be so clingy, she never was normally.

Not that Robin minded the contact. It was more than he'd had with her in almost six full weeks.

Once breakfast had been consumed, Cyborg and Beastboy raced to the couch to play video games, while Starfire dashed out the door, claiming that she was going to journey to the 'world of shopping', by which she meant the mall.

That left Robin and Raven free to go up to the roof and look out across the peaceful waters.

Stood watching the rolling waves of the water, Robin had one arm around Raven's shoulders, while the other crossed her stomach to wrap around her waist. He could feel her hand on his shoulder, the other at his elbow, and he rested his head against hers.

It was the most intimate the two had been in six weeks, with no explanation. Raven felt guilty for suddenly decided that she missed him more than she could handle, even more guilty for not telling him about her pregnancy, but she couldn't mess up the moment.

"So … haven't seen you out much lately. Raven, have you really been alright?"

Raven tensed a little, but she immediately calmed herself down - keeping her emotions in control had been a real challenge lately, thanks to her mood swings, but she had quickly learned how to keep them under control.

"I've needed some time to think."

"You can always talk to me about anything, Raven" Robin whispered, his hold on her tightening. "You know that?"

"I know" Raven murmured, wishing that it was true. She could - should - tell him about it, right here and right now … but she didn't want to.

And yet, it would be so much better for him to hear it from her mouth, and not to simply see her stomach expanding with no explanation. Robin was clever. He'd work it out. The only fair way to do it would be for her to actually tell him that she was expecting his child in about seven months.

But not yet. Not now, when they were having a moment for the first time in six weeks.

"Raven …"

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong?" the Boy Wonder murmured softly. "I can see there's something going on with you, why won't you tell me what it is?"

"I …" Raven sighed. "Robin, there is something I should tell you. There is something I need to tell you. But …"

"But?"

"I can't. Not yet."

"What's so bad that you can't tell me now?"

"It's not bad" she snapped, instantly defensive, but she quickly calmed herself - damn mood swings.

"Rae …"

"Sorry" she whispered. "Robin, I'll tell you when I can. For now, let's just … sit."

Taking the hint, Robin lowered them both to the ground and then gently leaned forward to press his lips against Raven's. Out of instinct, Raven responded instantly - their first kiss in six weeks was better than she remembered. When she took the hint from Robin's mouth, she parted her lips to allow him to deepen the kiss - she was certain that _this _was the real reason they called him the Boy Wonder. No other boy could kiss as well as he could, not that she had any others to compare him to, but still, he had to have a talent.

When they parted, she rested her head against his chest and enjoyed the way his arms came around her automatically.

She would tell him.

She would tell him soon.

_Tomorrow_, she vowed in her mind. _I will tell him tomorrow._

But that could wait twenty-four hours. For now, Raven just enjoyed the embrace she was receiving from Robin.

She couldn't help but focus on the hand that had fallen on her stomach, and she placed her hand atop his, smiling at the knowledge that they were touching the place where their child was growing inside her.

Robin stroked the soft material her leotard, unknowingly making the life within Raven get stronger from the touch of its father.

Raven noticed and she let her eyes drift shut, knowing that she could count this as a father-child bonding moment, even if one party was entirely unaware of the situation.

Hazeru - There you have it. A new villain and Slade is still kicking about somewhere.

Hera - And Raven's vowed to tell Robin, but will she?

Hazeru - Poor Robin doesn't even suspect ...

Hera - R&R please.


	3. Chapter 2

Hazeru - Hope this is okay, longest chapter yet! xD

Hera - ...It's only the third, though, lol.

Hazeru - Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 2

The small, silent clock allowed her amethyst eyes to acknowledge that it had just gone midday and she still hadn't emerged from the dark haven of her bedroom. Here, it was easy. Here, she didn't have to tell anyone anything. Inside her room, on her own, her secret was exactly that: hers. She didn't have to share it with anyone, and she didn't want to.

Well. She did want to. She wanted to tell everyone. She wanted them to know.

But she didn't want to have to go through the awkward motions of telling her fellow team members. Especially the leader, the baby's father.

Raven had known about this child for six weeks and not once had she given Robin any indication that she was carrying his child. Robin had a rather quick temper when displeased, and Raven was a little worried that hiding it from him hadn't been the best course of action.

Still, she had vowed to herself the previous day that she would tell him. It was already past midday, and Robin was an early riser at the moment. They had stayed in their separate rooms the previous night, but not before sharing a passionate kiss goodnight.

And now the time had come for her to tell Robin that she had been distancing herself from the others, even him, for a reason. Her secret was guarded, precious, and personal.

The other Titans knew of their relationship, even if they weren't desperately flamboyant, but Raven wasn't sure the others would easily accept the thought of a child coming into the Tower.

Starfire would be ecstatic at the thought of a baby, of course. Beastboy would make jokes. Cyborg's reaction was debateable, it depended on his mood.

And Robin …

She didn't know how he was going to react.

But she was going to find out.

And she was going to find out _now_.

/

"No way are you beating me, man!" Cyborg shouted.

"Dude, I'm totally beating you!" Beastboy yelled back.

In between the two boys playing a video game, Starfire focused on the moving figures on the screen and tried to determine what the joy in pressing buttons truly was. It looked fun, but surely there was another motive besides seeing the colourful lights on the screen?

Standing a bit away from the group was Robin. The leader of the Teen Titans stood in front of a stereo system which blasted out loud music. His arms were folded and his eyes closed behind the mask.

This was the scene which Raven walked into.

She glided, rather than walked, over to the stereo system, instantly fiddling with the buttons to turn the constant noise down. Robin frowned at her, but she glared straight back at him and motioned for him to follow her.

She was going to tell him, but not here. Not in front of the others, when they could be listening.

/

Back on the roof, one of Raven's favourite spots in the Tower, the view was really remarkable. No other location in Jump City had the unique view that could be seen from the Tower, and it was most breathtaking when one stood at the very top.

The gentle breeze forced back the girl's hood, letting her hair billow slightly in the wind. Next to her, Robin looked a little worried. Usually, Raven would say what she wanted to in front of anyone. She just didn't really care who heard her say what, unless it was to do with her love life - and then she would take him up to his room or occasionally even her own. They never went to the roof just to make out. So what was her reason?

"Robin" the girl began. "Are you … happy? With the way things are now?"

"What do you mean? Of course I'm happy."

Suspicious was beginning to grow inside the Boy Wonder, fear pooling in the pit of his stomach. He had heard a similar speech once on television, in a comedy programme - not that there had been anything very amusing in it, if he was honest. The female had said all this to her lover as she told him that she had found someone else and was breaking up with him …

_Is she breaking up with me? _Robin thought suddenly.

He didn't want her to. But he wasn't the type to break down and cry and promise that he could change. He was Robin, and that was that.

But Raven didn't come out with any of the lines he was expecting.

He had been fearfully expecting 'we should see other people' or 'I've outgrown you' or 'I've met somebody else'.

He hadn't been expecting …

"And what if I told you something was about to change? Something I can't get rid of, and something that effects us both?"

Robin knew Raven well enough to tell that she was beginning to struggle to control her emotions, and he reached out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. He smiled gently at her and spoke from his heart.

"Raven, whatever it is, we'll get through it. We have before. We will again."

Simple words. They had most likely been spoken - save for the specific name - by millions of people throughout the world.

But Robin's voice was purposely laced with love, and Raven couldn't help but notice that he deliberately made it clear to her that he was in love with her. Did she make it so obvious herself? She wondered if it was a bad thing if she actually did.

Raven wanted to smile, but her heart was beating so fast in her chest that even breathing was becoming difficult. She had had a speech prepared, but her control was slipping, her emotions were taking over. All her self-control was going into keeping her powers at bay, and she didn't have excess energy to spare on physical signs of calmness.

"Rae, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's … wrong … as such" she said. "Remember what I told you last night?"

Robin briefly cast his mind back to the previous day.

"_What's wrong?" the Boy Wonder murmured softly. "I can see there's something going on with you, why won't you tell me what it is?"_

"_I …" Raven sighed. "Robin, there is something I should tell you. There is something I need to tell you. But …"_

"_But?"_

"_I can't. Not yet."_

"_What's so bad that you can't tell me now?"_

"_It's not bad" she snapped, instantly defensive, but she quickly calmed herself._

"You ready to tell me what's going on?" Robin asked, bringing himself back to the present.

Raven nodded. "Yes."

"Go" Robin encouraged, taking one of his lover's hands in his own and gripping it tightly, not allowing her to pull away.

Raven gulped, ready to make up an excuse, any possible nonsense that he might believe, but she wouldn't let herself chicken out now.

She was better than this, she reminded herself. She was only so nervous because of the mood swings, because she was having to put in far more control than she had in a couple of years.

"Robin, we haven't been being careful enough" she said. "I avoided you for six weeks because …"

Robin was silent, waiting for her to continue, not wanting to pressure her. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"I didn't know how to tell you, but … I think I do now." She inhaled deeply, mentally steeling herself for whatever reaction might follow her next words. "Robin, I'm … _we're _… having a baby."

A stunned silence hung in the air for a few moments.

"… What?" Robin whispered, his face clearly showing shock.

"I'm pregnant, Robin."

/

When one is waiting for the reaction of the person who they care most about in the whole world, fifteen seconds of silence can stretch out for a very long time.

Robin's face was hard to read, even for her. It showed hints of shock, as if he was trying to keep his face expressionless and not quite succeeding.

The gears of Robin's mind were going mad inside his head as he stared at the love of his life, realising that this was no joke - when did Raven ever tell jokes, anyway? - and that she honestly was telling him that she was going to have a baby. His baby.

_Raven … pregnant … baby … family … father … _

Robin's mind batted these words around like a tennis player hits a ball with a racket. No thought stayed for more than a split second but it kept returning to his mind. An eternity consisting of fifteen seconds passed before he managed to calm his thoughts enough to speak.

"How long?"

Raven didn't need to be a genius to realise that he was asking how long he had before he officially became a father.

"Two months" she answered simply, not wanting to pile more details into his mind, which had to be having difficulty processing the new knowledge. She herself had had to lie in her bed for a few moments after realising that there truly was life inside of her.

But his silence was beginning to annoy her.

Did he have more to say? Wasn't he going to yell at her or beg her to have an abortion? No, she scolded herself, Robin wasn't like that. But, then, wasn't he going to at least say something? Ask when? Why she hadn't told him earlier?

Robin didn't notice her annoyance, though. He was too busy thinking about how different his life was going to be, all too soon.

He would never ask Raven to have an abortion or to give away the child. She had said 'having a baby', not just 'I'm pregnant'. This was Raven, and that meant that she had already made her decision.

And was that a bad thing?

He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, but there was a warm feeling in his chest, and not just the type of happiness he always experienced around Raven. It like he was excited … like he was expecting something good to happen.

And hadn't a family been what he had always wanted? It was right up there with protecting people, making sure that they didn't have to suffer the tragedy that he had when he was a child.

Robin had lost his parents at a young age. He had seen the wire snap, and witnessed something that no child should ever seen: the death of his own mother and father. He had been raised by someone reliable, who had made him into what he now was, who had looked after him and trained him. And although he saw him as a father figure and always would, he wasn't technically family.

Robin had, since he'd lost his parents, wanted to be part of a family. And now, right here in front of him, was the chance of a lifetime.

The woman he loved, carrying his child.

All he had to do was take the right steps, say the right things, and it would all work out.

/

Robin looked at Raven and allowed a smile to creep onto his face. Observing her somewhat surprised expression, he, without warning, captured her in his arms and pressed his lips to her own. There was no response for a moment - Raven being too confused and busy maintaining her control - but then she was kissing him back with enough passion to set the Tower on fire.

The two eventually parted, pulling away enough so that they could see each other's face clearly, but still enable them to hold one another. They needed the contact, the reassurance of the other's presence.

"This'll be hard, Raven, but we can do it" Robin said. "We'll …"

He sighed and then smiled. He could do what his parents had done in the early years of his life, what they had never got the chance to continue doing.

"We'll be great parents."

Raven smiled and nodded once, not entirely convinced and aware that there were complications that she hadn't revealed to Robin yet, but she was content to just let it go for the time being.

She had done what was important. She had told her baby's father the truth.

And the best thing of all?

He'd accepted it.

Hazeru - Well, she's told him. It's not a secret any more.

Hera - There'll probably be some stuff about Robin and his parents sad death later, by the way.

Hazeru - And about how it would effect his outlook on being a parent.

Hera - Review please.


	4. Chapter 3

Hazeru - Sorry for the bit of a wait, here's another chapter.

Hera - Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 3

It was like an enormous weight had been lifted from her shoulders. That was the only way Raven could describe the feeling she had in her body and soul as she walked peacefully back to the main room of Titans Tower, her fingers linked casually with her lover's own. There was some huge difference in knowing that she had told him the truth, that he had listened and accepted; that he was happy.

After a brief conversation in between embraces and warm kisses, the two had decided not to tell their friends just yet about the happy news. Neither one was willing yet to accept the questions that their friends would undoubtedly throw at them, and not just the expected ones.

There was always the matter of the baby's ancestry. If Raven was part demon, surely the child would be partly demon also? Robin was fully human, so perhaps the child would be one quarter demon, three quarters human? There was no way to tell until the child actually arrived, and it was the one thing that they had discussed already and did not know the answers to. Not to mention that if the child truly was part demon, would it have any ties to Raven's father? Trigon was gone, but he had been so powerful …

There was no way of knowing if he could come back again. Raven would put nothing past her father. And she would never allow him to try and use her child the way that he had used her. Her child would not grow up in fear, knowing that it was a monster, the way she had.

Not to mention that, if the child inherited Raven's powers, he or she would have to be taught, from a very, very early age, how to control their powers. And Raven was none too keen on the idea of mediating for hours on end with her young child, showing no emotion and urging the child to do the same.

For these reasons, and more, simpler ones as well, the two had decided to keep their secret theirs alone, at least for a short period of time. With Raven already two full months into her pregnancy, there was only a month - perhaps two, three at most - before she began showing unavoidable signs of being pregnant. Raven wore a tight leotard at all times, and was fully aware that, at some point, she was going to have to let out her clothes so that they would fit her. She didn't really want to change her dress sense just because of her pregnancy until it was vital.

Until she couldn't go out and be a hero any more, anyway.

Yes, the girl was aware also that she would have to, at least temporarily, retire from being a hero. She'd need time to relax and prepare - both physically and emotionally - for the birth. And afterwards she would need some time to recover, and also need to be there for the baby's sake. Being a member of the Teen Titans, it wouldn't be so easy as to be able to simply call for a nanny. The child may not even be fully human.

Oh well, was Raven's only thought on that.

She wouldn't allow the child to be entirely emotionless that way she had been as a child. She wouldn't allow Trigon - if he existed still - to use her son or daughter.

Not to mention that giving birth to a demon child - or partly demon child - was far more painful than birthing a baby which was entirely human. Many babies that had 'demon blood' inside them unknowingly killed their parents during their birth, because demon children were more advanced mentally and had a natural reaction to thrash. For their mothers, it was very painful, and many died. Most women who gave birth to complete demons did not survive. Raven knew that her own mother, Arella, had been very sickly straight after giving birth to Raven, and that she was lucky to have recovered.

The facts and statistics of giving birth to children with demon blood - she had yet to tell Robin about them, and she didn't plan to until he asked. And ask he would: nothing ever escaped the Boy Wonder.

/

_One Month Later …_

There was something off. There had been for a while now. For about a month, something about those two lovebirds just … something just hadn't been right.

Beastboy couldn't quite put his finger on it. The two seemed fine: they talked together, fought off Jump City's remaining enemies, snuck off to have some alone time …

And yet, things just seemed different.

For six weeks, Raven had been avoiding them. Even Robin, which had put the suspicion in the heads of the other three Titans that the two had fallen out. As it turned out, they must have made up, because ever since Raven had dragged him out of the room about a month ago, the two had scarcely been apart, and Raven seemed to smile much more than she used to. Something must have happened, something good, to make the gothic girl so outwardly happy.

And then this morning, it had happened. What Beastboy had been trying to achieve for years had at last taken place!

He had told another 'brilliant' joke. And Raven … Raven had laughed. A genuine laugh, with no traces of sarcasm or fake pity. She had honestly, truly found him funny.

And now Beastboy was certain that something was wrong. Well, not _wrong_, exactly - it was great that he had at last got her to laugh at one of his jokes. But if Raven was finding him funny, then she had to be in an unusually good mood, and one that had lasted for a month. He had been letting it go for long enough - it was time to be the stealthy Beastboy that he used to be, He had once become a fly on the wall of her room in order to find out what was going on with Raven, and he was willing to do it again if he had to.

Smiles were one thing. Flamboyant kissing on the sofa with Robin was tolerable. But laughing at his lame - yes, he admitted it - jokes?

Something was horribly different and Beastboy was going to find out what!

/

The gentle weight of the Boy Wonder pressed against the front of her body, careful of her still flat stomach, his lips locked tenderly with her own, moving in perfect synchronisation. Her hands caressed the tight material of his shirt, and she enjoyed the feeling of his own hands running up and down her arms.

Their reasonably innocent session ended after a few more moments, and then two parted and lay on the bed staring at one another. Raven was all too aware of the way Robin's hand crept up to her body and rested against her stomach, gently stroking the covered skin there. She wondered absentmindedly how many times he would do this during the next six months, if it would feel more natural when her stomach was bigger and she could feel the movement. It seemed … odd, to say the least, to have Robin's hand on her stomach when there was no obvious evidence of the baby growing inside her. She wondered if Robin, as the baby's father, could feel its powers in the same way she could.

Lately Raven had been experiencing strange feelings, dissimilar to the mood swings that were gradually dying down now. These feelings were strongest whenever she lay in bed at night with Robin lying next to her - often she would be in his arms - and placed both her hands upon her stomach. If she concentrated, Raven could sense the life within her, and could determine its state. She knew, from doing this, that her baby was healthy inside her. It was too early yet to be able to determine whether it was a boy or a girl, and Raven wasn't yet sure if she wanted to find out in advance. Part of her wanted to know, part of her wanted to make it a surprise for the big day.

And part of her wanted to slap herself silly for thinking sentimental, putrid thoughts like that.

"Hey, Raven?"

Robin's quiet voice startled her out of her daydream, and she opened her eyes to look at him, patiently awaiting an answer.

"What do you say we start moving stuff up to our room tomorrow?" Robin asked.

Our room, was of course a reference to the room that the two were currently setting up for their new family. Neither one was willing to entirely give up the privacy of their own, separate rooms, so their old rooms were going to be kept the way they were for whenever they were needed. The new room had been refurbished - with a little help from a clueless Cyborg, who didn't understand why they'd want two rooms - to have two bedrooms. One was for them to share. The other was a nursery for their unborn child, which was currently empty and waiting to be filled with items required for the bringing up of a baby.

"Sure" Raven answered, sighing at the thought of getting everything she needed up to their new room, and then the shopping that would have to be done at some point later in the pregnancy. "We can start tomorrow."

"I'm going to get Starfire to help me choose the best colours for the nursery. Something that'll go whether it's a boy or a girl."

"About that, Robin, do you want to know beforehand?"

"Rae, it's your choice. You're the one carrying the baby."

Raven smiled helplessly - sentimentality was becoming a regular thing for her, since the baby was conceived - and leaned forward to kiss Robin …

But her lips didn't get to meet his before Beastboy suddenly changed into his human form, his previous form having been a common housefly sitting on the wall, and stared at the two lovers with shock written all over his face.

"No way …"

Hazeru - Beastboy knows! His reaction? Theirs?

Hera - Please R&R


	5. Chapter 4

Hazeru - Sorry for the wait, here's another chapter.

Hera - It's a bit shorter, but it's a bit of an important point.

Hazeru - Enjoy, though! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 4

"Beastboy!" Raven growled, her emotional guards instantly in place against the sudden anger and fear that was pooling in her gut.

"What are you doing!" Robin snarled, equally furious that the green titan had been snooping in his girlfriend's private room.

But Beastboy was oblivious to their anger; his mind was preoccupied with the news he had just overheard. So what if he had been a fly on the wall? He'd still _heard_!

A sudden silence had fallen over the three, Beastboy staring in shock at the pair who sat on the bed, backs straight and a foot of space between them, as if it could convince him that he'd been hearing things. Raven's eyes bored into his skull, but his shock acted as a shield, and he felt none of the intimidation Raven's glare could often bring. And although Robin's eyes were hidden behind a mask, it was obvious that they were filled with fury.

The silence in the room filled it to the brim, until the boisterous teenager could stand it no more.

"Are you guys being serious!" Beastboy shrieked.

"Keep it down" Robin ordered, his voice firm and leaving no room for argument.

"But …"

"Beastboy, just once, keep your mouth shut!" Raven hissed. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Hearing that you're … _please tell me you're joking_!" Beastboy yelped, feeling any more screams being stopped as Raven stood up and pressed her hand firmly against his mouth, preventing anything more than a few whimpers.

"Beastboy, nobody can know about this" the girl said.

Beastboy suddenly calmed down, all the fire draining out of him as quickly as it had filled him, and he sunk away from Raven's pressing hand and onto the floor, where he sat on his knees and looked up at the girl, his eyes no longer blazing. Instead, the anger had been replaced with care.

"Raven, are you really pregnant?" he whispered.

Seeing the boy's gaze becoming softer, more caring, and hearing that his voice had been lowered; it all calmed Robin down, enough to make the Boy Wonder lift himself from his position on the bed to kneel beside the somewhat terrified boy.

"Yes. She is."

Simple words that held all the meaning in the world.

_Just great_, Raven thought to herself.

"Beastboy, we're trying to keep it quiet. We don't want anyone knowing about the baby yet, understand?"

The shaken titan could do nought but nod as he tried to come to terms with the truth, placed in front of him on a golden platter. Beastboy looked away from the team leader, up at Raven.

"How far along are you?" he murmured.

Eyes still blazing with anger at his intrusion, Raven muttered, "three months."

An awkward silence followed before Beastboy stood, Robin following his example. The green skinned boy took in the other two carefully. His arm extended as if to touch the girl, but then withdrew, a blush on his cheeks as he held his forthcoming hand in his own other hand, just to have something to hold on to. His green eyes met amethyst ones and he smiled.

"That's really great, Raven" he said, his voice now at his normal level of noise, unable to hold back his excitement at the news of a child. Then he stuttered. "But … eh … aren't you … y'know, a little young?"

"In Azarath children are often born of young mothers" Raven replied.

"And besides," Robin added, "we're heroes. We save the city time and time again, and we saved the universe from Trigon. If we can do all that, then we can take care of our own baby."

Raven nodded in agreement.

And for the first time, Beastboy noticed how much the two had grown in the last few months, and honestly, ever since the defeat of Trigon.

Suddenly, they weren't just kids in the form of heroes. Suddenly, they were two young people on the brink of becoming mature adults - prematurely, but after all they had both seen, it was to be expected. Two people in love, responsible individuals and a loving, efficient team.

A perfect couple to care for a child.

/

It took several minutes before Robin and Raven were watching Beastboy exit the room, the boy's confident walk admittedly a little shaky. As they watched him leave, both their hearts were filled with a new kind of worriment. They had made him swear to secrecy, but Beastboy was Beastboy … and he was never silent for long. Sooner of later, he'd let it slip. He may just have to tell someone, or he might just mistakenly let it slip out, but eventually, someone else would know.

Beastboy just wasn't the person with whom you shared your most trusted secret, no matter how well you knew him and cared about him - and it was no hidden knowledge that Beastboy had a big heart and was forgiving.

Yes, everyone cared about Beastboy, and he cared for them in turn, but a secret as big as this would get the better of him in the end. And if he truly didn't mean it, knowing that he'd failed might upset him.

Neither Robin nor the still angry Raven wanted him to suffer.

So now it was just a matter of sitting and waiting until they either told Cyborg and Starfire about their child honestly, or Beastboy accidentally let it slip.

They only wondered what would be the first to happen …

Hazeru - Poor Beastboy, he's been sworn to secrecy. How long will he be able to keep the secret?

Hera - Or will Star and Cy figure it out?

Hazeru - And when is the villain showing up next?

Hera - No flames. R&R please.


	6. Chapter 5

Hazeru - Sorry for the bit of a wait, here's another chapter.

Hera - This one introduces our villain - a creation of ours. So we own him.

Hazeru - And he's all we own xD

Hera - Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 5

There was an almighty crash as the boulder that had just been hurled by their most recent villain collided with a group of parked cars, causing several innocent bystanders to flee for their lives, tripping over the uneven ground that the same villain had torn up previously, before Jump City's heroes had arrived to take charge of the situation.

Which was a situation still in progress, it seemed, as Starfire was hurled against a building, releasing a soft whimper on collision and then crumpling to the ground. Passing by his injured team mate - sparing a quick glance to make sure she was alright, which she would be - Beastboy transformed into a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex and charged at the villain.

A beam of static green energy hurtled towards Beastboy, shot straight from the masked man's gloved hand, and crashed into the changeling's chest with a zapping sound. Groaning in pain, Beastboy collapsed to the ground, unconsciously morphing back into his human form.

"What's the matter, green one? Can't handle the pain?" the masked villain sneered, quickly turning and running again, in the opposite direction.

"Hold it right there, Mask!"

The man skinned to a stop as he saw the form of the Titans' leader coming into view on a motorcycle, in front of him.

Robin eyed the villain, whom had recently began causing trouble in Jump City, mindlessly trashing city property and robbing banks, and throwing his weight around to cause the collapse of major companies buildings.

The villain - Man In The Mask, as he so 'cleverly' titled himself - was a tall man who wore a skin-tight black and dark purple suit, and dark purple boots with a black swirl design on each heel. His gloves were tight and black with deep purple at the fingertips, and he wore a mask over his face, which was how he came to entitle himself Man In The Mask. The mask was the same dark purple colour of the suit, but the eyeholes were maroon, and made of a material that enabled him to see while not letting them see his eyes.

And even though he couldn't see the man's lips, Robin knew that Mask was smirking.

"Come on, Robin, you know it's easier for all of us if you just stand aside" he said offhandedly, before lifting his foot and crashing it down onto the tarmac of the road. Due to his superior strength - Starfire was the only Titan whose strength could match his - the road split and Robin was forced to move.

He tried to throw one of his trademark explosive disks at the villain, but Mask shoot a beam of green electric energy at them, causing a defending explosion which happened too close to Robin for the teen - just about still a teen - to not fall off the motorcycle.

"Catch you later" Mask muttered and he shot off past the crumpled boy, trying to make his escape.

Suddenly, however, a huge boulder, shrouded in a black aura, was hurtling towards him, and Mask only just managed to dodge it in time. He glared up at the girl who was floating in the sky, glaring at him. Like the other four Teen Titans, he'd seen her before. She was Raven, the darkest of the lot and possibly the most difficult for this particular villain to handle. Her powers of being able to create a shield meant that his electric beams he shot from his palms could be rendered useless.

"Any new tricks?" he sarcastically enquired, as he lifted up the same boulder she had thrown at him with his bare hands and tossed it back at her.

Raven gasped a little, but there was no way it was going to hit her.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Moving her hands so that her magic could catch the offending boulder and toss it aside, Raven fixed an icy glare at Mask.

"You never learn" she hissed, and she used her powers to throw two more large rocks - once pieces of the road, before he'd shown up and ruined it - at the masked man. He, however, just sneered and used his strength to kick a rock up, effectively propelling himself up and out of the way. He had managed to land on the top of a relatively small building - for the city's standards - and he kicked a piece of nearby scaffolding down so that it was going to land on a group of innocent people. Then, he shot a beam of electric energy at Raven.

This time, already concentrating on making sure the falling scaffolding didn't hit the terrified people, Raven was not prepared. This time, the beam made contact with her body and shocked her.

Pain rippled through her flesh and she dropped the powers that were holding up the scaffolding, and then she fell towards the ground.

Beastboy, who had seen the beam hit her, dashed towards her and, just in time, transformed into a large animal with a podgy stomach, cushioning Raven's fall so that she wouldn't be too badly damaged.

Meanwhile, Starfire and Cyborg were propping up the scaffolding while Robin got a lost child out of the way.

And in the midst of all this, Man In The Mask disappeared.

/

It wasn't too long after their encounter with Man In The Mask that the five rather unhappy Titans were grouped together in the living room at Titans Tower. There was no chatter and the television was turned off for once, so the room was silent.

Starfire was subconsciously wrapping her fingers around one another, fidgeting as she waiting for the tension in the air to break. Cyborg was deep in thought, inwardly seething about the disappearance of the villain.

Beastboy held an icepack to his head, trying to prevent the oncoming bump from swelling up.

Robin and Raven sat close together, neither one speaking though their thoughts were on the same frequency.

Raven was furious with herself; for allowing herself to be caught off guard, for taking that hit, for possibly injuring the baby she carried. Next to her, Robin was filled with worry, for Raven and the baby, and anger, because Mask had got away.

Robin was also angry that, when Raven, his girlfriend, had fallen, it had not been he who had cushioned her fall. Robin knew that, had Raven hit the ground full-force, she would almost certainly have lost the baby. If it hadn't been for Beastboy, the baby would almost surely be gone.

And it angered him that he hadn't been there to stop the _mother of his unborn child _from falling.

It also irritated him a little that Beastboy was extra fidgety at the moment, often glancing over, eyes full of panic, at he and Raven. It occurred to the boy wonder that Beastboy was probably also worried about the baby.

So he, naturally, formulated a plan.

"Beastboy" he said, standing up. "Let's go down to the infirmary and take a look at that bump on your head."

"Wha-?" Beastboy murmured; he was fine.

"In case of concussion" Robin concluded, and the other stood up hesitantly.

Robin then turned to Raven, meeting her eyes and sending her signals through the power of their sheer love. He felt that he could give her messages with his eyes through his mask, and she would still receive and understand them, and he was right.

Raven stood and accompanied them to the infirmary.

/

A relieved sigh escaped Robin as he looked at the results of the scan he had just run of his girlfriend, and she looked up at him from her position on the infirmary bed. Her face betrayed her not; no emotions could be read on her features.

"It's okay. You took most of the force of the fall in your upper back, so the baby wasn't jolted too badly" Robin said.

Now, Raven's face did betray her: her face relaxed considerably.

Next to her, Beastboy grinned at her. He had insisted on staying through the scan, although Robin had made him turn around when Raven had to pull down her leotard to reveal her stomach's bare skin.

Now, of course, she had properly adjusted her clothes to be respectable.

Robin leaned down and gently pecked Raven on the lips; Beastboy glanced away, not in the need of the sight in the slightest, or wanting of it.

However, after the two had quickly parted, he asked a serious question.

"When are you planning on telling Starfire and Cyborg?"

Now, this was a valid question.

It had been a full two weeks ago - fourteen whole days - since Beastboy had accidentally discovered that Raven was pregnant. She was now three and a half months into her pregnancy.

Both Robin and Raven had been pleasantly surprised that Beastboy had managed to keep their secret to himself. They had both seen his inner struggle every time an awkward moment came up, when it was obvious what he had been going to say before he'd remembered that he knowledge was a taboo and quickly changed the subject.

But they both knew that Beastboy couldn't keep it up much longer. Add to that he fact that Raven knew that most women in Azarath began to show during their fourth or fifth month of pregnancy - she might have as little as two weeks before it began showing physically that she was carrying a baby inside her womb.

And now, Raven looked from Beastboy to Robin, back to Beastboy, and then finally, back to her boyfriend, where she fixed her eyes on his masked ones.

"Soon."

Hazeru - They're getting ready to tell the others.

Hera - Be honest; who thought Beastboy would snap?

Hazeru - Anyways, the villain shall be back!

Hera - No flames. Please R&R.


	7. Chapter 6

Hazeru - To make up for the wait, I've made this chapter a bit longer.

Hera - Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 6

The dull throbbing in his head increased from a slight twinge of pain to a full-on migraine within the space of an hour. He had been up for three days in a row; the worries running through his head prevented him from sleeping even if he would have liked to, and there was too much work to be done for him to even consider sleep, no matter how badly he needed it.

As usual, whenever a particularly problematic villain appeared in their city, Robin was the one to stay up at night trying to get new leads, trying to solve the mysteries and get a full background story, trying to bring him down no matter what. This time, it was not the old villain, however, not Slade. Nor was it anyone they had dealt with before the last few weeks. Man In The Mask was causing more trouble as the days went by, and all five Titans were getting quite tired of him. So naturally, Robin had taken it upon himself to work 'extra hours' until Mask was brought to justice.

Only this time, the leader of the small team had another major worry plaguing his thoughts: the reactions of his two clueless friends and the rest of the city. The reactions of the other various Titans spread across the world; what might happen when their enemies found out; how the city officials could potentially react.

And all because of the innocent child forming inside Raven.

Raven. She and Robin had decided the previous evening, a week after Raven's worrying fall, that come the next day, they'd tell Starfire and Cyborg about the baby. Robin was already worried.

Starfire would be joyful, that much was predicable. Cyborg, though …

Cyborg liked to be thoroughly informed of the events going on with the members of the team and especially with major events which could - and in this case, most certainly would - force the Titans to make changes to their lives. Hearing that Raven was expecting was going to be hard enough for him to hear; if Beastboy gloated that he already knew - and of course he would - then it would only be so much worse.

But he had known this day was coming and there was no point in losing any sleep over it - even if that was exactly what he was doing right now.

A sigh escaped him as he placed his head in his hands for the hundredth time that night, despair threatening to take over him. There were absolutely no leads on mask, nothing to dictate what his weaknesses were, and no information about where he had obtained his powers from or if they were naturally his.

In simpler words, Robin had learned nothing about Mask. And it angered him.

He was almost ready to hit his head off the desk in despair - he'd done it before - when there was a gentle tap at the door, and it opened to allow the other person entrance; they weren't waiting for a response or permission to come in.

"You're still up?"

Robin sighed gently and turned to face his girlfriend, trying to plaster a smile to his face; stress was something Raven needed to avoid right now, seeing as it was bad for the baby. Raven just folded her arms, telling him without speaking that his efforts were useless, and he almost groaned in defeat.

"What do you want, Raven?" he asked, his voice quiet so as not to anger her. "I'm working."

Well, he never was the type of boyfriend who dropped his work instantly for his girlfriend - it was one of the reasons that Raven actually loved him in the first place.

But now, she frowned.

"You're depriving yourself of sleep. You're coming to bed."

It wasn't a question, it was a command. Robin smirked a little.

"Giving orders, Rae?"

"Robin, Mask will be brought to justice when we catch him. We'll get new leads on him in time. Until then, there's no point in exhausting yourself." Her voice softened a little. "You'll only tire yourself out and be unable to fight when we next face him."

Her words caught the Boy Wonder off guard; why did she have to be so damn _logical_?

"I have to work."

She sighed in annoyance; why did he have to be so damn _stubborn_?

Raven walked over and placed her arms loosely around his waist, pulling him back against her body gently and resting her forehead on the toned muscles of his back, evident through his tight clothing. Close contact like this with Robin was something she was craving more and more as the months went on; the baby liked it. The new life she could sense - that she could feel so strongly within her - was always so peaceful, entirely content, when she was so close to Robin. The unborn child already had a bond with its father, even if Robin wasn't aware of it yet, although he most certainly was already forming a bond with the baby.

Like right now.

He pulled Raven's arms from his waist so that he could turn around and instead envelop her in a warm embrace; it felt more natural like this, to be able to hold her and their baby in his arms. It was a feeling of completion, of being whole. It also felt like he was protecting her, even though he was fully aware that Raven could handle herself.

"Mask is gonna cause more trouble" he whispered in Raven's ear, a last attempt plea for her to let him be alone, but said in so soft a tone that it was obvious to anyone - and obviously to Raven, who knew him so well - could tell he had already given up.

Raven just shrugged, shifting slightly in his arms, and the pulled away and walked out of the room, knowing already that he would follow.

/

Sunlight filtered through the opened curtains of their bedroom - theirs, since this was their shared room - and cast its golden glow over the features of the two young lovers. Raven shifted slightly and then sat up in bed, sleepily stretching and then sighing at her boyfriend, who slept on regardless; the lack of sleep was getting to him, she could tell.

Any other day, Raven would have let the Boy Wonder sleep, let him catch up on the hours that he lost to his personal torture of staying up all night looking for nonexistent leads - but not today. Today was different. It was the day that they would finally tell Starfire and Cyborg about the baby, and Raven needed Robin awake and ready for the argument that was almost certain to follow their news.

She lightly shook his shoulder and was rewarded with a heavy groan as Robin was awakened and rolled over.

"Robin, we're telling them today."

And that was enough to make Robin - even a very tired, just awake Robin - instantly wide awake and alert. He shot up and his eyes - unmasked - bore into Raven's own. For a brief moment, she lost herself in them, as she had done so many times in the past couple of years. Even during their first months of dating, Robin had not taken off his mask, hadn't let her see what lay beneath. It had been about eight months into their relationship when he'd finally shown her what he would show no other, and she always was amazed by how beautiful his eyes were. They so rarely got exposed to pure sunlight, so how was it possible that they could be so bright?

But she had no time today to dwell on the magnificence of the little seen feature; it was a big day for her, and also for him.

"Ready?" Robin asked, hopping out of bed and beginning to get dressed - mask on before any other clothes, as was usual.

Raven only nodded in response.

"Do you think Beastboy will keep his mouth shut?" she queried, really asking a rhetorical question.

The anticipated answer came forth and Raven slipped out of bed to put on her leotard and her comforting blue cloak.

It took only a few minutes before the two Titans were dressed and ready. They then shared one sweet kiss before leaving the room and heading down to the main room, where they would be faced with a difficult task that couldn't be put off any longer. A week to go and Raven would be entering her second trimester; meaning she could soon be showing.

Today was, indeed, the day.

/

Starfire looked at Cyborg, who stared back at her with the same wondering expression that she wore on her face. All the Titans were currently seated on the living room sofa - Cyborg and Starfire sitting together, Beastboy sitting on the opposite side of the sofa with Raven standing next to him, and Robin had the floor.

"So come on, then, what's the big news?" Cyborg asked, impatient. "Any new leads on Man In The Mask?"

"Yes, have you come up with the trails which we are to follow that will lead us to the capture of the villain?" Starfire further enquired.

"No" Robin said, somewhat irritated by their assumption but realising their logic behind it, and sticking to the subject at hand. "Okay, as you know, Raven and I have been together for a long time now. And we …"

"Oh, splendid!" Starfire cried, joy lacing her tone and a huge smile on her face. "You and Raven are getting married!"

Raven pinched the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb; this was exactly what she'd been afraid of. Not that she was actually afraid, but the general saying had a point.

"Whoa, slow down, Star. I don't think we're really up for that" Robin said, feeling slightly awkward.

Should he be marrying Raven? Didn't men marry the women who they loved, who carried their children? It was never something he'd considered, and he didn't think it was exactly Raven's top priority either.

"Oh" Starfire sighed, disappointed. "So you and Raven will not be requiring a celebratory feast?"

"Well, maybe" Robin shrugged. "You see, Star, Raven's … that is …" Robin sighed, deciding to come right out and say it, grabbing Raven's hand as he did. "Raven's pregnant."

There was a moment of utter silence in the room as Starfire and Cyborg took in the news, while Beastboy just sighed in relief at not having to keep the secret any more and the two lovers held their breath.

And then a joyful squeal erupted in Titans Tower, and both Robin and Raven were suddenly enveloped in a too-tight hug from Starfire, the excited girl squeezing them tightly while speaking her many congratulations far too fast for either of them to make out the individual words. Even after she released them, Starfire was still rambling, bouncing up and down on the spot as she talked at a million words a minute.

"…And we shall put a crib on the roof and hang sparkling ribbons on it in every shade there is on Earth, and we shall all fashion miniature outfits for the infant to wear in every design and colour imaginable, and we shall sing joyous songs at the event of the birth, attended by all the traditional lords and ladies and all our friends, and we …"

Her words were cut off as Cyborg slapped his hand - more roughly than was needed - over her mouth.

Robin tensed, and Beastboy subconsciously moved closer to Raven.

Cyborg slowly removed his hand from Starfire's mouth and stalked over to them, his face the image of any predator about to pounce on his prey. It was a look that made Raven cover her flat abdomen with one hand; she vaguely noticed that Robin and Beastboy flanked either side of her protectively.

Cyborg folded his arms when he stopped in front of them, and asked, "how far along are you?"

"Almost four months" Raven replied, not taking notice of Starfire's widening smile.

"Are you saying," Cyborg continued, his voice icy, "that for over three months, you've been keeping a secret from us? A secret that could destroy the Titans if word of this gets out to our enemies, and a secret that should have been Titans knowledge within the first five minutes of finding out? Are you telling me that you two have been planning an event like this … for three months …" And suddenly his serious face changed to a tragic one, "…without _me_?"

All the adrenaline pulsing in Raven's veins disappeared and she scowled at Cyborg as he picked her up and hugged her - squashing her shoulders but avoiding her precious abdominal area. Robin let out a sigh and graciously received another tight hug from Starfire, while Beastboy bragged in the background about knowing all along, no-one taking any notice of him.

Cyborg eventually released Raven and grinned at his fellow team-mates.

"I know what this calls for!" he grinned. "Waffles!"

Suddenly, there was cooking going on and laughter and a wonderful smell filling the air; good friends celebrating together an event which wouldn't take place for months.

And in the midst of all this, no-one but Raven noticed that the team leader had quietly slipped out the door.

Hazeru - They told them all, but something's going on with Robin ...

Hera - Find out next chapter. Please R&R.


	8. Chapter 7

Hazeru - Hey, guys. Sorry for the wait :(

Hera - Finally updating. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 7

The gentle breeze on top of the tower whipped her hair across her face and she absentmindedly brushed the strands away, although the wind made her efforts pointless only seconds later. Her concerned eyes lay on the motionless form of her lover, as he stood dangerously close to the edge of the tower's roof, arms folded.

Raven made her way over and placed one hand on his elbow, noticing that he jumped slightly – he must've been very deep in thought.

"Robin, what's wrong?"

Raven had noticed when Robin had left the room, and as soon as she was sure that their friends were too immersed in the cooking and eating of waffles to take notice of her own absence, she had slipped out and followed her senses that led her to Robin.

Robin sighed and pulled away from his girlfriend, turning instead to face her so that his masked eyes could meet her bare amethyst ones.

"Cyborg was right, Raven" he said quietly. "This is dangerous. As soon as people like Mask know about this, they'll have something that they can use against us. It can put all the Titans in danger, and I can't let that happen."

There was a short pause before Raven's expressionless face turned away from him as she spoke.

"You think we should quit being Titans?"

Robin gasped, looking at her in shock; he hadn't been suggesting that!

"Rae ... no. No, I don't think that. It's just ... we have to come up with something. Something better than just saying 'we'll be careful', because that's not good enough" he said, with slight panic edging into his tone although he tried to let his authority be shown. "We have to come up with a plan to hide the pregnancy from our enemies and that means ..."

"Hiding it from the public" Raven finished.

The two stared at each other in silence, a new problem with a terrible solution hanging in the air around them like a thick fog.

Never, not once since they'd known they were going to have this baby, had the two of them thought that the pregnancy would have to be kept a confidential secret. It was a good thing, something that should be celebrated and not hidden. Only shameful secrets were hidden. Their child wasn't shameful, it was sacred – why should they have to hide it?

And yet, if they didn't, and their enemies found out, they may be putting the child's life at great risk.

Raven looked up at Robin with a firm look on her face.

"We have to tell the others. _No-one_ can know about this."

"Rae ..."

"You know what'll happen, Robin. We can't."

And Robin understood.

Linking hands, the two went downstairs to deliver the sad news to their friends, wishing that they didn't have to spoil the joyful atmosphere and yet knowing that it was their only chance of giving their child safety.

/

Beastboy looked over at the girl, wishing he could say something – say anything – that would make them – Raven, at least – feel better.

The room was silent, save for the bleeping sounds coming from the video game controller in Cyborg's hands – the half metal man was losing badly at the game he was usually so good at, the only sign he'd given that their sad news had affected him.

Starfire had cried and tried to hug Raven, but the latter wasn't in the mood and had pushed her off before retreating to sit in her corner and meditate. Robin had left the room once she'd gone into the private world of her mind. Starfire had also left, claiming that she was going to drown her sorrow in the wonders of the earthly mall of shopping.

Beastboy had, for once, rejected the offer of video games and sat quietly in a corner, watching Raven quietly.

She and Robin had decided that, for the safety of both Raven and the baby she carried, her pregnancy had to stay top secret. As soon as it was obvious to the point where looser clothing couldn't hide it, Raven would stop going with them on missions. Then, after the baby was born, the child would be hidden from the world until Mask was gone – they didn't think he'd be captured any time soon, regrettably. And even when the baby was able to be going out with them and seen by the general population of Jump City, a story would be invented, that the child was an orphan from one of their families who had nowhere else to go – the child's protective background story was still being decided.

It was all a very sad affair.

Here was Raven, almost four months into her pregnancy, knowing that she would never be able to say that she was the mother of the child. It was likely that the background story would have the child being related in some way to Starfire, since the public knew the alien princess was kind hearted and would of course take in an orphaned child that was her relative.

So, if this was the story they decided to go with, neither Robin nor Raven would ever be able to call out to their son or daughter fondly and have them run into their open arms, without causing question. Well, maybe Robin. But not Raven. She'd never gone for that kind of public affection act, so it'd seem strange if she suddenly did.

Beastboy felt very sorry for them.

/

An uneventful week passed, with no attacks from Mask or any other major villains, and no other missions for them to go on. The Titans had enjoyed seven days of going out together for pizza and games, or just staying in the Tower and getting on with whatever.

Beastboy had now bested Cyborg in their new video game by over two thousand points, leading the latter to stay up at night plugged into the television, determined not to rest until he was back in the lead. Beastboy had found in a shop a cookery book that taught one how to cook over a hundred recipes with tofu, and so he had been immersed in cookery for nobody but himself. Starfire had discovered earthly jewellery and spent hours poring over various books and catalogues, trying to decide which pieces to buy and wear – nose rings were her definite favourite, but after hearing about the piercing required to wear one, she had had second thoughts.

Robin had spent his week trying unsuccessfully to find leads on Mask and training. Raven had spent hers meditating and reading.

It was just like any other week off. Only it wasn't.

Behind their careful facade of normalities and regular activities, all the Titans were awaiting the inevitable events. Cyborg and Beastboy joked less with Raven; Starfire stopped knocking on her door to ask her to do 'girlfriend' activities. Robin pushed himself further than he ever had before, desperate to make the city safe. The books Raven was reading were often about the childbirth of demon children.

To anyone watching, everything was fine, normal and ordinary.

But to the Titans themselves, everything had changed.

Hazeru - Aww, sad chapter.

Hera - No flames. Please R&R.


	9. Chapter 8

Hazeru - First off: I am SOOOOO sorry for the long wait T.T

Hera - She had complete writer's block with this one, but it's gone now, and we're back! :)

Hazeru - Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 8

She could feel it even if nothing was obvious yet; her stomach looked as flat as ever, but she could feel the difference, and not just through a mental knowledge of her own form – if she pushed in, she could feel that her stomach felt almost hard to touch. It was unfamiliar but not anything to fear; all her books said that this was normal and natural for a child that was part demon.

Doing what so many women – through none quite like her – had done before, Raven stood in front of the full body mirror and turned so that she could view herself from the side, focusing her attention directly on her stomach and noticing that, four months and two weeks into her pregnancy, it was still not obvious. Good.

Raven turned away from the mirror and sat herself on the floor, surrounded by her books and a few burning candles. She had sought the old comfort of her own room, even though she usually stayed in her and Robin's joint room nowadays, because she wanted to do some serious studying, free of the demands and distractions that her friends subconsciously provided.

Although their concern and interest was undoubtedly touching, she wished nonetheless that they would all fuss over her less; even meditating had become different, for she so rarely meditated alone now – Starfire had evidently decided that she needed company to do so and joined her. It wasn't like she hadn't done it before, but for the alien girl to join her in meditation almost every time had become, over the weeks, rather irritating.

Cyborg didn't fuss much, she had to admit; he just showed his concern by keeping a keen robotic eye on her throughout every fight they had, and taking it upon himself to not let her take a hit. Thus far, he had been mostly successful. Beastboy, on the other hand, was a constant annoyance. He either talked too much or, if he could tell she didn't want to be bothered, he'd just hover near her – it was almost creepy, in her mind, the way that he seemed to almost seek out her presence, but at least he wasn't telling jokes.

And this was all when she _didn't_ factor in her lover! Robin was the same as ever but nowadays he was always there, and he never had been before. He had never been the type of boyfriend to constantly be with her, no matter how much both enjoyed their private time together, because there was always something that had to be done – and truthfully, both of them enjoyed their space.

But now Robin was nearly always with her, and when he wasn't, Beastboy or Starfire would take his place; Raven, of course, had long ago noticed that this was probably the Boy Wonder's plan. He seemed to have decided not to let her go anywhere alone, and while this hadn't truly bothered her at first, she now craved some peace and quiet.

With a deep sigh, Raven closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

And she was finally lost in her solo meditation.

/

"Robin, may I speak with you?"

"I'm busy, Starfire."

"But, Robin, you are merely studying the same sheets as you were last night" the alien princess pointed out, determined not to be turned away. "We must talk."

"Star..."

"I am worried about Raven." Starfire knew that her best bet was to go straight to the point. "I have joined her in meditation for two weeks and have noticed that she is very sad. I think we should try to assist her in cheering up. What can we do?"

Robin sighed, wishing that he had an answer to this attack that would satisfy his friend and knowing that he did not.

"The only thing we can do is take Mask down" he said simply, sparing a sad glance for the poor, determined girl before turning back to his notes – notes that he had to find a lead in, even though he had spent the previous night poring over them and had examined them several times already.

Starfire reached out a hand to her old friend, trying to find some words of comfort to give him – he looked tired and frustrated – but found that there was nothing she could say, and so she turned and left, hanging her head.

Starfire continued down the hallway, her eyes downcast, and into the main room, where she saw Beastboy and Cyborg playing the video games; they had so many colourful buttons that she didn't understand and could not play. Unwilling to bother them – they seemed so drawn into the game already – the girl dug around in the cupboard alongside the cooker, and pulled forth her cooking book, deciding to prepare a Tamaranian-style feast to try and cheer up her two friends who were so withdrawn lately.

Meanwhile, one of said friends swiped his gloved hand across the table in despair, sending papers and notes scattering everywhere – efforts wasted unless you counted, as he did, that they were all completely useless. He had scanned each one, in great detail, a hundred times over and was now frustrated, sleep deprived, hungry and worried.

Man In The Mask was causing the Teen Titans the most trouble that any villain had caused them in a long time. Until he had showed up, Jump City had been relatively peaceful for once, the Titans having to go after only the most amateur of criminals – petty thieves and aggressive drug addicts. Now, they were busy all the time, and simultaneously dreading the alarm going off again, which they all knew it would.

Robin was painfully reminded of all the times he had stayed up night after night trying to get a lead on Slade; even after Slade seemed to have disappeared, he still couldn't sleep peacefully, thanks to Mask. While Mask was not a danger in the same way Slade had been – Slade wanted domination and power, Mask had so far displayed only selfish tactics – he was a thorn in their side, and a powerful one at that.

Suddenly an alarm went off, red lights flashing and sounding the call of duty. Robin frowned; speak of the devil. He rushed out of his untidy lair, already knowing who the criminal they were chasing was.

/

"Titans, go!"

The five heroes divided, each going in a different direction, in the hopes of confusing the villain who had already caused them so much trouble. This time, he had snuck into a museum and stolen a priceless diamond, unknowingly setting off the alarm.

Said villain shot bolts of green electric energy at the half-man, half-machine that was charging at him, effectively sending Cyborg hurtling back. However, he had avoided collision with his pretty friend, who continued on long enough to land a powerful kick on Mask's chest, throwing him back. Starfire prepared to shoot star-bolts at him, but he had moved too quickly and gotten out of the way before she could strike.

Mask picked up a large rock, destroying part of a caveman exhibit, and threw it at the girl – who shrieked in anticipation of the pain – but it was caught in dark energy before it could hit her. Mask frowned at Raven as she hurled it straight back at him and dodged before throwing another at her, which she narrowly avoided.

"Give it up, kids" he smirked. "You know you can't win against Man In The...Hey!"

He abandoned his cocky speech in favour of fighting off a green lion, summoning his strength to kick the poor animal far into the distance, where it morphed back into the form of a groaning Beastboy. Mask wanted – just for the sake of it – to gloat, but he was already busy defending himself against Robin and throwing the team leader into a wall.

The short battle continued on with Mask defending and attacking, using his superior strength to best all the Titans save for the alien girl, but she was defeated by her own kindness – she was too busy saving her friends to attack.

Once Mask had them all busy, he managed to make his escape, taking the expensive jewel with him.

Inside the walls of the museum, where the fight had taken place, five angered Titans were busy picking up the pieces of their dignity and hope; not an easy thing to do after being defeated yet again by a highly persistent and annoying criminal.

"He has escaped once again" Starfire sighed.

"This is the last time" Robin growled, walking away from the team and punching a hole in an already partially destroyed wall. "The next time we face him, Mask is going down!"

The other four exchanged glances, knowing from experience that their leader was putting himself through hell and blaming himself for Mask's escape; they had seen it before with Slade and had no desire to see a repeat. The last time, Robin had become Red X and even become Slade's apprentice due to his inability to ease up on the hunt for Slade; it had been too close. Now, they were determined not to allow him to put himself through that again.

Raven moved forward before the other three had thought of what to say, with a confidence that comes only from a relationship in which two people are deeply in love. She stood beside Robin and placed one hand on his shoulder, allowing her thumb to stroke the skin exposed by his torn shirt.

"Calm down" she said quietly, authority in her voice that couldn't be heard by anyone but Robin and herself. "We'll get him when the time is right. Beating yourself up about it isn't going to solve anything."

Robin frowned but nodded. Raven sighed, knowing he hadn't forgiven himself but at least he was trying; at the very least, he was trying not to stress her out, although she pretended that her pregnancy had nothing to do with this behaviour. He looked over at her and took her free hand in his own, leaning in and kissing her gently. Raven responded automatically, but pulled away quickly; she liked such actions to happen in private.

But at least that little kiss had calmed Robin down somewhat; he turned to the others, one hand still in Raven's.

"Let's go."

And the defeated team left, sore but with a new determination.

Hazeru - Next chapter: Raven's signs of pregnancy show. You can tell me what you'd like to see in a review if you want (cramps, mood swings, cravings, etc.)

Hera - Please R&R!


	10. Chapter 9

Hazeru - Here's the next chapter, this one's a bit longer.

Hera - Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 9

As the next week passed, all five of the Teen Titans were beginning to see the remarkable downside to having a pregnant member amongst them. Not only was Raven acting naturally edgy – thanks to Mask, who had given them trouble twice in one week already – but she was also beginning to drive the other four team members, including the team leader, completely mad with her mood swings.

During her first trimester, Raven had had the natural mood swings that accompany any and every pregnancy; however, they were now seeing the type of mood swings that accompanied a pregnancy that was going to produce a child that was partially demon. Now they could tell for sure that the baby inside Raven carried demon blood, on the plus side. On the downside, they had to deal with her, and it was not an easy task.

The girl went from angry enough to have to be forcibly held down to crying uncontrollably, and that was when she controlled her powers. When she lost control – it had only happened once thus far, and everyone hoped it never would again – objects blew up and demonic creatures were temporarily unleashed, to be held back by Raven's subconscious once she regained control of her emotions.

Starfire had decided not to attempt to include Raven in her outings any longer and instead all their time spent together was in meditation, the activity in which the empath had to control her emotions. Cyborg was noticeably wary around her. Beastboy dared not tell jokes, lest they anger the mother-to-be.

But naturally it was Robin who had it the worst: it was he who had the difficult task of calming her down during the particularly bad mood swings, and such a task should never be sneered at or underestimated. It was far from easy, especially for someone who spent half his night poring over newspaper articles and potential leads that always came to nothing in the end. Of course, Raven knew that he was tired and then her guilt worsened her mood swings – it was rather a painful cycle.

Such mood swings were never found in women bearing completely human children; even the worst could not blow up their surroundings. Raven, however, was carrying a child that was partially demon, and she was feeling the full effects of such a pregnancy, and was fully aware that the worst mood swings and cravings came during the fourth and fifth months; by the sixth month, they had usually lessened. Needless to say, she desperately wanted time to fast forward.

By this time – at four months and three weeks into her pregnancy – the darkest of the Titans was finally beginning to show physical signs of carrying a child. They were very subtle, unnoticeable to anyone that wasn't looking for them, but there they were. Her abdominal area had begun to protrude just the slightest bit. It wasn't really visible, but one could feel it if they pressed down on her stomach; feel the rise of her body there.

Every night, she lay on her bed with her hands on her stomach, feeling the swelling that was steadily getting worse; feeling her baby growing within her. Whenever he came to bed at the same time as her, Robin would do the same, and be even more awed than she was; it was an indescribable feeling, truly, to feel your own child growing each day.

Whenever they were together like that, both of them remembered that everything they were going through was worth it.

/

It was just as well that they and the three other members of the team believed that and were excited for the coming child, because it was only a matter of time after the calm of the storm before another of Raven's demonic mood swings erupted with enough ferociousness to destroy the entire city.

"_Beastboy_!"

The cry of anger had a terrified shape shifter diving behind Cyborg for protection, peering over his shoulder at the girl who'd just entered the room, cape billowing and her eyes obscured by the blackness of her magic.

"You forgot again! How many times are you going to forget!" Raven hissed, her tone low enough to be dangerous; each word was laced with dark venom. "I've told you a hundred times that the toenail clippings go in the trash and _not_ on the coffee table!"

Beastboy looked sheepish, moving out from behind his friend only slightly as he replied, "Heh, guess I forgot again. I'm real sorry, Raven; I promise that I'll – yaahhh!"

A dark aura surrounded him and lifted him off his feet. Cyborg took one look at him and dashed for cover behind Starfire, who looked remarkably unbothered by the whole ordeal, even as Beastboy was shaken back and forth across the room, screaming as he went.

This was the unpleasant scene that Robin walked into; he could only sigh and run forward to help by grabbing hold of his girlfriend's wrists, forcing her to drop Beastboy – 'drop' being the operative word, much to the poor boy's irritation. Robin held tight to Raven's wrists and watched as she, after a brief moment of struggling, managed to regain her control over her emotions; he let her go quickly once he realised that she was alright again and then he looked at her in despair.

"What happened this time?"

"This place is so untidy. We have to get this place ready, and toenail clippings on the table are _not_ healthy!" Raven hissed, pointedly glaring at Beastboy. "If he won't listen to me, then make him listen to you!"

Robin sighed and turned to Beastboy – with an apologetic look – and gave him strict orders to be more hygienic; after all, Robin understood exactly what this was all about. Raven had never been so bothered about cleanliness before her pregnancy, and by now the Boy Wonder had realised that his girlfriend was entering the 'nesting' stage of her pregnancy – even those bearing partially demonic children worked to give the child the best environment possible.

After a few of her mood swings, he had pleaded with her to let him read some of her books on the pregnancy of demon children, and he'd pored over the book she'd given him – taking on board her 'advice', otherwise known as demands, not to damage the thing. By now, Robin had read every page three times over and at least had a decent grasp on the pregnancy cycle of women carrying demonic children; he could only be thankful that her occasional lack of emotional control was lessened by the fact that he child she carried was also partially human.

What worried him was this: he had yet to see any word that said anything about the actual birth of the child, and he knew that Raven herself had researched the process; why didn't she want him to see her discoveries? Robin, being paranoid as he was, saw this as a problem; it likely meant that there was something she didn't want him to find out.

And that only meant that he had to try harder to find out himself.

But all that was going to have to wait until this mood swing was fully passed and Raven had fully regained control of her emotions – an uncontrolled Raven was a terrifying thing indeed.

Luckily for Robin, and the rest of the team, Raven had by now regained her control, and she glanced over at Beastboy sadly, her expression becoming ashamed as soon as she saw him step back from her when she looked at him.

"I'm sorry, Beastboy. That was ... uncalled for."

Beastboy smiled sympathetically – never one to hold a grudge against a friend – and reached forward to place one hand on her arm as he replied, "don't worry about it." He was ready to make a 'clever' follow-up comment, but a stern look from Robin thankfully stopped him before he had even opened his mouth. Instead he just asked her how everything was going, and she told him that it was as well as it could be.

"I've got an idea!" Beastboy grinned, raising his eyebrows at the pregnant girl. "How about we go downtown and get some paint? Y'know, to fix up the baby's room."

Everyone was rather surprised by this peace offering; had it come from Robin or Starfire, it would have likely gone virtually unnoticed, but from Beastboy it was unexpected. While the others were merely surprised, Robin was also irritated: he had had plans to do that with Raven himself, nearer to the birth, but now he realised that it would be better to let her go now, while the signs of pregnancy were physically minimal. And as much as it pained him, it was better to let Beastboy go with her; the shape shifter would keep her entertained, while he himself would be poor company presently thanks to another late night with no sleep.

Raven, meanwhile, barely noticed Robin's inner dilemma, and she merely nodded to her friend. "Why not? Better now than when I can barely move."

Everyone smiled at her weak attempt at what was probably supposed to be a joke, and then Cyborg and Starfire took their leave, allowing their friends to go about their own business. Beastboy walked towards the door, letting Raven follow him rather than trying to drag her with him – from experience he knew that this was not a smart move.

Raven reached forward to place the gentlest of kisses on Robin's lips, barely making contact before parting; much too soon for the team leader's liking. She then made eye contact with him and frowned.

"While we're gone, you should get some rest. I know you didn't sleep last night."

Robin simply nodded, unwilling to get drawn into an argument even though he knew one would doubtlessly arise the minute she returned to find he hadn't rested at all; he couldn't, not with Mask still on the loose. He then watched as the woman he loved departed with Beastboy, and wondered why it bothered him that he couldn't do everything with her.

Then again, with her gone, he could do some research on demon pregnancies and births – it would take away from time looking for Mask but he could catch up on that during the night – without distractions.

Hazeru - So, the next chapter's kind of up to you readers.

Hera - Do you want to see Beastboy and Raven at the mall of shopping, or would you rather skip it? (as a friendship thing).

Hazeru - It's up to you guys, so let us know :)

Hera - Please R&R.


	11. Chapter 10

Hazeru - Sorry for the wait, here's the next chapter.

Hera - We're skipping the shopping scene and going straight to what happens after.

Hazeru - Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 10

The crash that resounded all around the tower had most likely shook the entire city; this was what was going through the thoughts of the alien princess as she flew quickly to the source of the sound, locating her friend Robin at the scene of the crime. She was instantly dubious of the entire situation – what was he doing in Raven's room? She didn't like anyone being in her room, not even her own lover if she wasn't there, too.

"Robin?"

There was no answer, just a glare sent her way that was so icy – even through the mask – that she shivered involuntarily. Nevertheless, Starfire wasn't one to give up and she hesitated only briefly before entering the room.

"What happened?" she queried.

"She never told me it was this dangerous." His voice was so monotone and low that she knew instinctively that whatever he was talking about was bad, worse than bad.

The alien walked over to crouch beside her friend, only now taking notice of the open book that was lying beside him, the spine facing her and so obscuring the content from her view; she didn't dare to touch it, for it was quite obviously one of Raven's precious books that she never allowed anyone but herself to touch. Why had Robin infiltrated her bedroom just to look at a book?

The answer was not something for her to hear, and she knew it. That is why Starfire was not surprised – hurt nonetheless, yes, but expecting it – when Robin grabbed the book, rose to his feet and departed without so much as a glance at her. She sighed and closed her eyes, a pained expression crossing her face as she was left to exit her friend's private room and wonder what had gotten her best friend so riled up that he could not even talk to her about it.

Starfire knew that he would talk to her eventually – if it was so important, he would talk to them all – but it didn't make it any less irritating to have to wait. She was grateful that she had patience when it came to Robin; it was the only thing stopping her from following him.

/

Four and a half hours. It was four and a half long, agonising hours before Raven and Beastboy at last trudged back into the tower, each laden with shopping bags and the female looking decidedly annoyed; her emotions were thankfully under her complete control, otherwise there might just have been some destroyed objects. Her companion, on the other hand, was grinning ear to ear.

Their arrival was greeting by a smiling Cyborg and a half delighted, half worried alien princess, both of whom were eager to see the purchases. Beastboy brandished a large tin of green paint, almost the exact colour of Robin's gloves.

"Found it myself down at the home maker's store!" he smirked proudly. "It'll go great with the Boy Wonder's kid, right?"

Starfire clasped her hands and began to joyfully flit around, all the while talking about how wonderful it would be to help set up the baby's room – now that the conversation had turned towards shopping and the oncoming baby, her anxious thoughts of Robin had been discarded in favour of celebrating. She and Beastboy gathered up the bags and half flew-half danced their way up to Robin and Raven's shared room to deposit the items.

Cyborg smiled at the left behind demon girl.

"What did you end up getting?"

"Paint" she droned, frowning tiredly. "And then Beastboy just had to get matching blankets. And curtains." She lowered her dark blue hood. "I drew the line at green teddy bears."

Her friend grinned knowingly; green animals that could only remind her of Beastboy? There was no way that sort of thing would ever be making its way into her child's room, no matter how much the shape shifter might beg and plead. "That all? You two had a lot of shopping stuff there, Raven."

A frown crossed her face; on any other woman it may well have been a blush. "Mostly food."

Cyborg just nodded, unwilling to stir up any kind of negative response from his friend whose hormones caused her control to slip. It would not do to draw attention to the fact that she was having cravings for the strangest of foods – nobody in the tower, save for the princess herself, had ever knowingly eaten Tameranian food before, but now Raven seemed to gorge herself on various substances that, under any other circumstances, she'd have chucked straight out of the window had they been served to her.

Raven gave her friend one last nod and headed towards their leader's lair – the place where he conducted all his searches and spent far too many of his sleepless nights; her two friends would take care of the shopping bags, so she could just seek out her lover. After all, she knew Robin very well – he would have ignored her orders and gotten no rest while she was gone, and this meant that he ought to be scolded for it.

The half demon girl stroked one hand from the beginning of the forming bump on her stomach – easy to feel if not to see – to the base of it and then pushed open the door, ready to berate her boyfriend for not resting. She was fully expecting to see him surrounded by newspaper clippings and the like, all in some way related to Man In The Mask.

She found him there, as she had known she would. But she had not expected to see him standing with only one book in his hands. Her breath caught in her throat; she recognised that book, the design on the cover was so unique that it was unmistakeable. He must have been snooping in her room!

The sad thing was that she could not even bring herself to be angry with him for going into her personal room uninvited; the look of sheer fury and horror on his face prevented her from feeling anything but dreadful anticipation.

The door clicked shut behind her, leaving the room lit up by only the small desk lamp. Somehow the darkness was befitting as he looked at her from a distance of ten or eleven feet. Silence reigned supreme and the half demon knew that breaking it was not her duty, but rather his. She wondered how long he was going to stare at her for before he realised that she wasn't going to speak first, that she didn't have to question this. She knew what was written inside that book, knew what he had been looking for, knew what he had found.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded, his voice cutting through the silence like a knife slices through meat; it was low and calm but obviously strained, like he was trying desperately to keep his temper. It couldn't last. "You're almost five months along, Raven." His voice raised in both volume and anger. "When were you going to tell me!?"

There was a brief silence before she answered. "When I knew that you could handle it." His expression changed from pure fury to a mix of anger and confusion, and she took the chance to continue calmly. "Robin, you haven't been sleeping lately. You're stressed and overtired and you can't focus right now. Telling you would only have made things worse for you."

"So you…"

"I was waiting until we'd caught Mask." She looked him right in the eye, unashamed of her actions. "Then you wouldn't have had to focus on two things at once."

Another silence fell between them, this one immensely uncomfortable but not filled with the same tension; the explanations were out in the open already.

Robin sighed. "How dangerous is it? Really?"

"Robin…"

"I need to know, Raven. I want to know now."

"Many women die in the childbirth, but it's not impossible for me to survive. I'm a lot stronger than most women. Because of my heritage, the child will be very strong and at least a quarter demon. But I'm part demon as well, Robin." She looked away. "I'm not going to die."

Robin looked away from his girlfriend, mentally thanking his father figure for the idea of a mask because it was just now doing a magnificent job of hiding how teary his eyes had become. The statistics in the book had not been good; they had told him that Raven had a high possibility of not surviving the childbirth, and now that he knew how disgustingly possible it was that he was going to lose his lover as he gained a child, his views on the entire situation had changed.

He wanted his child, of course he did; but he didn't want to have to lose Raven.

"I'm sorry" he whispered.

"So am I" she replied.

Of course, that was only the outcome if he lost only one of them. The potential for both mother and child dying during the birth process wasn't enormous, but the risk was greater than that of a fully human child's birth. Clearly demonic children took a lot out of their mothers during the pregnancy stage, often culminating in ending their lives as they brought their offspring into the world.

Robin was not about to let that happen to Raven. He wasn't going to lose her; he wasn't going to lose the baby.

The Boy Wonder moved forward, closing the space between them and folding his lover into his arms; Raven instantly returned the embrace, uncaring of how tense they both were.

Neither one of them was entirely comfortable but this sensitive topic had already been touched on, and now there was no way of turning back. It was out in the open and all of a sudden, just because both of them knew about the dangers, the pregnancy was no longer a purely happy event. It was wonderful and joyful and exciting still, but it had now become risky and dangerous and the couple found themselves walking on the edge of a chasm of fire.

Robin rubbed one hand up and down Raven's back, pressing her body closer to his so that he could feel the tiny swell of her stomach against his own. He dropped a tender kiss onto her head as he felt her body against his, a solid reminder of why all this worry and pain was going to be worth it. He would do whatever it took to keep both his child and his girlfriend alive, and he would remove any and all threats.

Even if things had become noticeably more dangerous for them both, the situation in and of itself had not changed. They were still expecting a baby, still fighting Man In The Mask, still going to be parents in just over four months.

And they were still happy about that. Their eyes met briefly before their lips did, silently agreeing that this was going to be a rocky road that they would have to support each other through, but that they would ultimately get to the end of the road without falling.

They stood in silence in one another's arms, both unaware that the other was crying as they tried to hide their own tears.

* * *

><p>Hazeru - So Robin knows now that Raven could die. But will she...<p>

Hera - How the story progresses is a little bit up to the readers. We're wondering if it might be a good idea to bring Batman into the story. What do you guys think? We may bring him in for a couple of chapters if you guys want, just as a minor character.

Hazeru - You can let us know in a review if you want a guest appearance by Bats.

Hera - Please R&R.


	12. Chapter 11

Hazeru - Here's the next chapter.

Hera - We're updating quickly for once. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 11

It didn't disappear; no matter which way she turned, it was always visible through her classical black leotard. There was no way of hiding in beneath her usual attire, no angle at which it could be mistaken. At five months the half demon Titan was obviously pregnant. The bump was not huge – at least, not yet – but rather small and firm and unmistakable. It could be hidden quite easily beneath her cloak, but to hide it effectively out in public she'd have to find a way to completely fasten it. Her skin tight leotard was no longer going to be enough.

It had been inevitable from the beginning but she was unhappy all the same; how long now before she couldn't even fight alongside her friends? Mask had been giving them more and more trouble as the weeks went on – this past week, three attacks that had left them defeated and with a leader that grew ever more irritable with each failure – and soon they would be down a team member. In any other situation, Raven would have had no problem insisting that she was going to fight but not now, not with the possible price to pay being the life of her unborn baby. It - the sex was still undetermined - was the only thing she was willing to sacrifice the security of the city for.

With a resigned sigh, Raven pulled her blue cloak over her shoulders and wrapped it loosely around her body, knowing that with this covering the swelling of her stomach would be unnoticeable. At five months it was a small enough bulge that it could be hidden beneath such loose clothing, if not her black leotard. A lot of human women may not have been showing so much as she was, but she and the baby were part demon; it would show more obviously earlier. She headed down the corridors into the main room at Titans Tower, and there she found the typical setting of Starfire cooking – who knew what she was attempting to make – and Beastboy and Cyborg battling viciously via video games. As was always the case whenever a villain gave them particularly bad trouble, Robin was not in the room.

Nevertheless, she headed towards the fridge and pulled out a red apple – red, not green; green apples of any variety made her vomit – to ease off her hunger until dinner was served. Cyborg had promised to make a curry and it sounded more than slightly appetising, especially considering that the last curry he'd made had been delicious and that had been long enough ago to make her crave it.

There was a swish of air around her and then Starfire came into view.

"Raven, have you seen Robin? I wish for him to sample this Tameranian dish!" Here she held up some wiggly orange substance and smiled eagerly at her friend. "Do you wish to try?"

Raven watched the 'food' squirm. "No."

Starfire's face fell. "Oh. So you have not seen him?" she persisted.

"He's probably doing more research. It's best to just leave him alone."

"But…"

"Starfire, you know what he's like. Every time someone like Mask comes along, he hides in there until we catch him. He's irritable, and shoving some … whatever that is … in his face isn't going to help."

Raven left her friend behind, knowing that she'd been harsh but fair; Starfire would only get upset if Robin got annoyed with her for bothering him when she was only being friendly, and at the moment the team leader got annoyed with anyone and everyone that dared to interrupt him, his girlfriend included. It would probably have seemed selfish to an observer, but the Titans knew that it was just how Robin was; he worked hard and caught the bad guys and kept the city safe, it was just what he did. Some might say he was neglecting his pregnant girlfriend, but the Titans knew that getting rid of Mask, the most potent threat right now, was his way of keeping both her and the baby safe.

Nevertheless, it was painful to watch – he grew more and more agitated every day, and every day he angered more was one day closer to the baby's arrival. It could not go on and they all knew it; Robin himself knew it, which was why he worked so hard to get rid of Man In The Mask: as soon as the baby came along, chasing down the bad guys wasn't his only priority.

/

The stressed out leader himself was currently not in his 'study', as his friends all suspected, but rather sitting on the roof of the tower, looking out over the watch with masked eyes. Contrary to popular beliefs, Robin genuinely did understand the need to take a break once in a while; he was getting better at it lately, making sure that every other day he took a couple of hours to train or relax. Now was one of those times to simply relax, even though his mind was still buzzing with thoughts on Man In The Mask and his eyes could see the newspaper clippings that had been left behind or already discarded.

Besides, today was a special day for Robin, not that any of his friends knew this. Why should they know? He had never told them, had never wanted to; it was too private an issue for him to share with them. Not even Raven knew everything, simply because it was in the past and the past was where he wanted it to stay. This day, a few years ago, he had made a big decision for himself and had come to live in Jump City. It was the first time in years that he had made such a big decision for himself; usually anything major was determined by his guardian.

It was an anniversary of sorts, he supposed. A commemoration of his arrival in a new city, a place where he had set up a new life with amazing friends and a beautiful girlfriend, the same city where he would soon become a father for the first time in his life. He was young but he hadn't had a normal childhood; Robin had matured years ago, much earlier than society expected of him. He was young but ready.

Robin let out a sigh, looking out over the ocean as his mind wandered away from chasing villains to rest on his former life. When he had left Gotham City, he had never expected that his life could turn out this way. If someone had told him that he would be having a child with the woman he truly loved at such a young age, he would have laughed in their face; he would never be able to get away with something so seemingly irresponsible, it wouldn't be allowed – and it wasn't the authorities that he would have to worry about, either.

The young hero smiled – it was a small, tired smile but it was genuine – as he reflected on the knowledge that he was, no matter how bad things got here, happy.

Even if he was filled with more than one type of guilt.

/

Dinner was not as animated as it usually was for the young heroes, but it wasn't a solemn affair. Robin was quiet and Cyborg had steam coming out of his ears – Beastboy beat him three times in a row at his favourite game; he would not rest until the situation was reversed! – but it was nonetheless a pleasant meal with friends, everyone but the alien princess, who'd cooked her own Tameranian meal, gorging themselves on pizza. Starfire talked about her home world; Beastboy bragged about his video game victory; Robin ate his meal with one hand and held Raven's in the other beneath the table. All in all, ordering pizza in had been a good idea.

It was just a harmonious setting. But like always, such settings do not last long for those who lead double lives and fight crime – halfway through the meal, Robin's eyes grew wide and he fled from the room, hastily shouting his apologises to his friends and his wishes for them to continue their meal.

Raven frowned – what the hell had just happened? – and ate alongside her friends for the next ten minutes, after which she decided the Boy Wonder had been gone long enough and departed to go and find him, murmuring to the others to not follow them.

The half demon female found her lover in his own private room; she entered without knocking, something that would have normally irked him but now he just sat motionless on the bed, something clutched between his gloved hands, obscured from view. She crossed the room to sit down beside him, placing one hand on his knee and the other upon his hands, which she noticed were very tense and shaking slightly.

"What happened back there?"

Robin looked at her, masked eyes meeting amethyst orbs, and stood up, pulling free of her hands and crossing the room to stand before the cupboards, his back to her. It was over a minute before he began to speak. "I got a call."

Raven tilted her head to the side. "From who?"

"An old friend." It was a rather vague answer, but it was enough for Raven to understand, and Robin knew that, so he continued without hesitation. "He wanted me to come and see him about something…"

"About what?" Raven interrupted, unwilling to let him get away with not telling her; if this was dangerous, she wanted to know for various reasons. "What did he want?"

"Just to talk." His voice was strained, like he was gritting his teeth. It was unfortunately obvious that he wasn't going to say more on the point, although he did give a sort of explanation: "I moved here over three years ago and I haven't been back to see them yet, after I promised that I would. Now it's too late for me to arrange this my way."

He turned around to face her. Raven's face conveyed to him her confusion, but also her understanding that he wasn't going to elaborate on what he had told her. She didn't question this or demand to know more, she just listened to what followed after.

Robin looked her right in the eye, and she could tell – even through the mask – that his eyes were blazing with mortification and fury and excitement and most of all anticipation. He didn't try to smile.

"We're going to have a visitor."

* * *

><p>Hazeru - Raven's showing, Robin's stressed and there's a mysterious visitor coming...<p>

Hera - I wonder who it might be. Anyway, please R&R.


	13. Chapter 12

Hazeru - My longest chapter yet!

Hera - And a guest appearance!

Hazeru - Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 12

He was jumpy, more so than they'd ever seen him before and that included the times when they'd seen him tearing his hair out over their inability to capture Slade years ago; it was both horrible and fascinating to witness. Their leader was not so much angry as he was fidgety, unable to sit still for more than five minutes and using up all his extra energy – anticipation does rob one of their ability to sleep for as long as they like – to fruitlessly search for Mask.

By now, the Titans had been informed that they were going to be visited by an old 'friend' of Robin's, although he refused to tell them who this friend was; even Raven was left in the dark, something she was not at all pleased with. All they knew was that this was somebody from their team leader's past, someone that he wasn't in any great rush to see again; they had all idly wondered about who this mystery guest could be, but with the persistent criminal activity from Mask, other villains and common criminals, the Titans found themselves too busy to realistically dwell on it. There were too many other things for them to concentrate on and so the identity of Robin's old friend was more or less forgotten by the team.

That is, until he showed up on their doorstep.

Well, such a common statement undermines his appearance; nobody noticed him arriving, since he was so schooled in stealth, not even the Boy Wonder himself, who knew exactly what to expect. His old mentor – guardian, father-figure, teacher, tormentor, whatever his official title amounted to – turned up in the dead of night and hid in the shadows, awaiting the time when his old protégé would awaken. As if feeling that something – someone – was in the room who should not be there, Robin had leapt out of the bed he was sharing with a woman, immediately adopting a defensive stance.

Then he had noticed who this person was and relaxed; in all honesty he was furious with this arrival, but at the same time he was far from surprised. Had he honestly expected a knock on the door from the infamous Bat?

That had been the previous night.

Now morning, the Boy Wonder had just finished showing his former guardian – which the man still was in some respects – around the place, and decided to ask him how long he intended to stay. What others might have interpreted as a glare fell upon him, and a deep voice told him that he would be gone soon, but that he wanted to meet the team. A smile graced Robin's face; there was still that hint of almost parental concern in his tone, the one that showed whenever the Bat let his guard down around him, which he did often enough in Robin's younger years.

Robin attempted to smile but it didn't reach his eyes, which he'd left uncaring unmasked, although his mask was reliably stuffed into a pocket should he need to reach for it. He was in his classic costume otherwise. Truthfully he was worried about what might happen with the Batman here in the tower; Beastboy had been ecstatic enough to meet the real living Robin, the sidekick. Who know how he'd react to seeing the Dark Knight himself?

Robin, as calmly as he could manage, gave his old mentor an overview of his teammates – leaving out that he was heavily involved with Raven since the Bat had yet to bring up that he'd seen his former ward in bed with a young woman – and promised to keep them as calm as he could.

/

Two hours later, a high pitched scream rang throughout Titans Tower. The owner of the shrill wail was bouncing up and down with joy – babbling away one moment and stunned into silence the next – as he feasted his eyes upon the honest-to-god Batman, really standing in front of him – and looking, not that he noticed, none too pleased about the situation. Once the glare fell on him directly, Beastboy zipped his lips, realising at once why the Bat-glare was so spoken of; the tales of its terror were not exaggerated, it was enough to shut him up in mere seconds. Although he _was_ still bouncing on the tips of his toes with the excitement of it all.

Robin frowned at his friend – he'd expected this but it embarrassed him nonetheless. He didn't want his old mentor to think that he was hanging around here lazily with a bunch of kids, it just wasn't true. Luckily for him, the other two people in the room – Raven was not yet here – did not react so euphorically.

Starfire was not automatically amazed simply because she was not sure of who he was. The alien had heard stories, mainly from Beastboy, about this person who had trained Robin, but she hadn't recognised him immediately. Once she knew who she was facing, she began trying to impress him by showing off her princess-educated manners, feeling that she should not appear ignorant in front of the one who had made her best friend into what he was today. Oddly enough, Starfire seemed unusually shy around him.

Cyborg knew, of course, who this was and was obviously rather impressed – even if he was attempting to hide it – but other than some initial stuttering he was reasonably cool about it, going about his usual routine of making breakfast while wondering if it was the done thing to offer Batman waffles and pancakes if he showed up unexpectedly in your living room.

Robin introduced them in turn and – after begging help from Starfire and making her promise to keep Beastboy entertained for the next half hour or so – took his old friend down to the training room where they could have some privacy; he knew that he would not want to be surrounded by his ward's friends, especially the ones enamoured with him.

He wasn't training, not really, just fidgeting with the apparatus while he waited for Batman's response to his team. He wasn't expecting gushing praise, but Robin knew that he would not take kindly to someone he looked up to so much disapproving of his friends. The Bat moved around the room, inspecting it and dimming the lights so as to shroud the room in half light; typical, he wasn't comfortable in the usual brightness of the training room. The Boy Wonder waited for him to speak but eventually became impatient and decided that he ought to break the silence.

"What do you think?" Damn it, his tone betrayed him; he sounded like a forlorn little kid, desperately seeking a parent's approval. "You've not met Raven. She's a bit darker, you'll like her." Well, he hoped.

"You seem to be very close to them. I take it they're more capable than they look." It wasn't really a question and he didn't directly answer the question. "And none of them were the girl you were sharing a bed with earlier."

Robin gulped; okay, so much for hoping that his old father-figure would just let it go. Evidently explanations were in order, and there'd be no dropping the subject until the Bat had all the answers he wanted. "Raven. She's my girlfriend." Well, there was no point in lying, was there? "We've been together for a couple of years."

Something like a smile graced the older man's face; it was amusement, concern, pride, all those emotions that he would show in front of Robin if not anyone else save for Alfred.

"I'd like to meet her."

It was a safe enough comment but the tone of his voice let Robin know that it wasn't a request; there was to be no arguing, and in all honesty he didn't want to fight with him, not if he could avoid it.

The young man, knowing that all the commotion would have woken her up by now, asked for Raven to come meet him in the training room, receiving a slightly tired reply of confirmation. There was a partially awkward silence between the two – well, awkward of Robin's part, at least; this was making him feel like a kid again and he wasn't too happy about it – whilst they waited for the darkest of the Teen Titans to join them. When she did, the surprise was visible on her face – to those who didn't know her it could have been missed, but Robin knew his love all too well and the Bat just didn't miss those little hints of emotion, he was too well trained.

"Is this who I think it is?" No trace of intimidation, just curiosity.

"Yes. This is … well, you know who he is" Robin stammered, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously; this was more awkward than he'd anticipated it would be. He cleared his throat and turned to the Batman. "This is Raven."

There were no words spoken as the two strangers analysed one another; the Boy Wonder was aware that his old mentor appreciated this, perhaps giving her more of a chance than he would the others due to her calm and collected appearance.

"It's nice to meet you" Raven spoke smoothly.

"Likewise." Simple but pleasant enough.

Robin's eyes narrowed behind his mask but he was calming down, not as nervous as he had been; things could have gone so much worse. Not to mention, Raven was covered with her usual blue cloak and it covered her stomach, making the definite bulge unnoticeable beneath its folds; that would buy him some time.

Well. It _would_ have bought him some time. Had Raven not decided that waiting for the inevitable was a waste of time and looked pointedly at Robin before asking, "Have you told him yet?"

A lesser variation of the Bat-glare fell on him and he sighed. So much for getting his old mentor in and out of the Tower without having to explain about this. He had known that this visit could no longer be postponed – it was his own fault for not holding up his end of the bargain and at least asking him to visit earlier – but he'd hoped that the baby would have arrived before the Bat found out.

Of course, that idea was now cast aside as Robin cleared his throat. "Raven…"

"He's going to find out sooner or later." Raven moved to stand close beside him, hands barely touching. "Tell him now."

He was grateful for the support her closeness provided him with. Dealing with villains was easy enough and he was even used to the Bat's attitude to the point were his grouchiness didn't bother him, but this was different; how did one explain to the Dark Knight that he was, to all intents and purposes, going to be a grandfather? There was really no safe way to play this, so he went with the route of 'get it over and done with as quick as you can', knowing that Batman would appreciate the honesty.

"What do you have to tell me?" The calm voice was something Robin was familiar with; the Bat was wary of what he was about to hear.

The Boy Wonder cleared his throat loudly, reaching out subconsciously to take Raven's hand; she held onto it tightly, the only sign that she was nervous. Robin really wished that he could address hid old mentor by his real name, it would be so much easier if he could be a little more personal with it, but to call him Bruce right now would not be proper; he wouldn't want Raven to hear it.

And so he didn't call him anything. He just blurted it out and then cringed; if there was a bad way to tell him the truth, this was it! "Raven's pregnant. We're going to have a baby in a few months."

A silence fell over the room and the anticipation within it was so overwhelming that it could have enveloped the world.

* * *

><p>Hazeru - Yep, it's the Bat! Sorry if he's not totally IC, that might take me a while to get used to; I've never wrote him before.<p>

Hera - What will his reaction be?

Hazeru - Find out next chapter!

Hera - Please R&R.


	14. Chapter 13

Hazeru - Hey, guys, sorry for the wait.

Hera - We've been busy.

Hazeru - Like, really busy xD

Hera - Still, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 13

If there was a dictionary in the world which defined something with an image instead of a few words, this scene would have been the number one definition of awkward. Batman was stood in complete silence, motionless; Robin was close to visibly shaking with anticipation; Raven was mirroring the stance of the Dark Knight but her face betrayed the anxiety she was almost successfully suppressing. Two of the three almost wished the alarm would sound just to get them out of this.

Robin gripped his lover's hand, relying on her calm presence to keep him from trembling. There was a time when he had been completely comfortable in the presence of the disguised Bruce Wayne, and even now he was sure he would be more or less calm under regular circumstances, but with the tension in the room he was feeling much like he had during his first days in the mansion.

Raven, on her part, was understandably nervous but that did not overtake her interest – how was this going to play out? This was a situation that she had never believed she'd find herself in, not even when she and Robin had become regular lovers. After all, who honestly thought that they'd one day face Gotham's Dark Knight in a moment like this?

A few moments passed, the tension rising with each passing second, leaving the two teens increasingly worried. And then, just like that, the tension was broken.

The Bat had swept from the room, gone in a matter of seconds and leaving no trace of himself behind save for two teenagers holding their breath.

Raven was stunned for about two minutes before recovering, blinking, and turning to Robin. "So … was that a good or bad reaction?"

"Eh … I'm not sure."

"Robin, you should go after him."

Yes, he should and he knew that; but he knew equally well that it would be a pointless effort. Even if he found his old mentor – and thanks to years of experience he was fairly sure that he had a better chance of doing so than anyone else – Bruce would never talk to him until he was ready. It was something he had learned very early on in his years as a hero: Batman would not talk to anyone, even his own sidekick, until he was ready. Trying to force him was nought but a waste of time.

He looked at his girlfriend and squeezed her hand. "He'll talk to me when he's ready."

/

"Titans, go!"

A massive rock was launched straight at the team leader but its trajectory was halted by Raven, who used her powers to catch it and chuck it straight back at its original owner. How Control Freak had managed to bring to life whatever-the-hell-this-thing-was from some old horror movie they did not know, but right now it was destroying the city and therefore they had to stop it – and find the actual criminal as well.

Charging past the monster, Starfire hurled part of a destroyed building at the monster (whatever it was), sending him crashing into the street where he was pinned down temporarily by Cyborg. He didn't manage to hold the slimy beast down long, though, for he was soon enough thrown off and flying backwards.

"Oh, I'm gonna get you…" his voice trailed off as he hurtled into the distance.

The monster had no time to celebrate its victory – if it was capable of doing such a thing – as it was already being trod upon by a massive green Tyrannosaurus Rex. A battle erupted while the commotion the two caused was kept to a minimum by the rest of the team; Robin swept a few people out of the way of a falling building while Starfire and Raven worked together to get the falling concrete safely onto the ground.

The fight was about the most basic of fights that the Titans ever encountered, so while they were none too pleased about being thrown into walls they were not overly concerned with the attack; it was nothing they couldn't handle. When the alarm had sounded – an hour or so after Batman had abruptly departed – they had feared simultaneously that it was Man In The Mask back for another round of chaos; hearing it was just Control Freak was something that ultimately relaxed them.

Once Cyborg came back to the fight, ready to tear apart the creature, it was all too easy for the team to subdue it and hand it over to the proper authorities. All in all this was a fairly quick and easy battle to win. Robin was even pretty sure that he knew where to find Control Freak.

As the team turned to leave, Robin just happened to glance upwards and he saw the unmistakable silhouette that he knew so well standing atop a building; just as he saw the figure it disappeared. Robin looked down with a smirk; even in broad daylight the Batman was able to melt into the background, it was a talent he shared with no other.

Leaving the scene of the crime to be cleared up by the Jump City police force, the Titans headed home to the Tower, knowing already that this fight was not yet over. They still had to catch the 'criminal mastermind' behind the monster.

/

It was evening before Robin found himself completely alone in his normal study room. The day was fruitful: creepy horror movie monster defeated, Control Freak captured and in police custody, pizza with friends. Now it was time for the Boy Wonder to get back to work on the case of Man In The Mask.

He had been working for perhaps fifteen minutes when he became acutely aware of another presence in the room. Turning around was not even necessary.

Batman stood directly in front of him, shrouded in the dim lamp light, with an expressionless face. Robin looked his old mentor in the eye, knowing that if he appeared ashamed in any way it would send off a false aura of regret; he didn't want Bruce to think that he was unhappy with the situation. He was not. This was sooner than he would have liked and entirely unintended, but that didn't take away from that fact that he had come to terms with the idea of being a father. He did not regret any of his decisions and he didn't want the Bat to think he did.

The two maintained eye contact, each as stubborn as the other. Eventually, the silence was broken.

"Congratulations on the capture of your sea monster" Batman said in monotone, giving nothing away. "Your team works well together."

"I know."

"How far along is Raven?"

"Just over five months." Silence reigned again and Robin sighed. "It wasn't … planned."

"I should hope not. Dick, what are you going to when the baby arrives?"

"I don't…"

"This isn't something you can just make up a solution for as and when it pleases you" the Bat snapped. "You need a plan, Robin, something concrete."

"I know." The Boy Wonder's tone was much more defeated this time, knowing that the Dark Knight was right. "I'll think of something. I'll have a plan before the baby comes."

A glare was sent his way, one that had promised a lecture in his younger years but nowadays meant only that there were going to be consequences if he did not fulfil his promise to come up with a plan.

Robin turned away, back to his work, and tried to ignore the Bat. He half expected the other man to walk away but it did not happen. Batman merely stalked over to the opposite side of the table and frowned at him.

"Robin, she shouldn't have been out there fighting today. This is supposed to be your team."

"Raven can handle herself. When she can't, I won't let her put herself in danger."

"Robin…"

"She's as stubborn as I am."

And yet another glaring standoff was begun; Robin had had more than enough of these in his early teenage years to have any fondness for them now. Thanks to this, it took only a few minutes before Robin interrupted the silence.

"This is my life. I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" His tone was condescending and concerned at the same time.

"Yes." Robin's tone was more convincing than he had intended, a fact that he took pride in.

This was a talk that could go on for hours, could go round in circles, could be an endless argument; with this in mind, the teen was rather relieved when his old mentor swept soundlessly from the room.

It wasn't over, he realised that. There would be another talk coming soon, with whatever concerns or demands the Dark Knight still had to voice. But knowing that it was over, at least for now, gave him the peace of mind he needed to get back to work.

Even knowing that it was a temporary peace.

* * *

><p>Hazeru - If you think there's more to come ... you'd be right!<p>

Hera - Please R&R.


	15. Chapter 14

Hazeru - Almost a year. It has been almost a year since I updated this.

Hera - This is unforgivable. But hopefully people will be happy we're updating anyway.

Hazeru - Hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 14

Although it wasn't exactly unexpected, it irritated the Boy Wonder nonetheless when it became apparent that his mentor had returned to his own city without any sort of farewell. He was all too aware that the Bat was not finished with him and that the situation, which had been complicated to begin with, had become complex. After speaking with his father figure less than twenty four hours ago, he was agitated and dreading what was still to come; he had no idea what to expect from the man now and wondered vaguely why Bruce was waiting.

The team stayed out of their leader's way, knowing that this had unsettled him even if they didn't know precisely why or to what extent. Raven returned to her own private room to give Robin his space, and the rest of the team, observing this, followed her lead. Starfire and Beastboy had individually decided to stay out of this one entirely, although for different reasons, and Cyborg had never intended on getting involved in the first place. No matter how much they all cared for Robin, they were aware that his relationship with Batman was a difficult and bizarre one that they could not hope to understand. Even Starfire knew better than to get involved.

Raven, however, was caught in the middle of the struggle. She knew that the real reason for Robin's frustration was that his old mentor knew about their forthcoming child, and she also knew that she was involved whether she cared to be or not. This was, after all, as much her fault as it was Robin's. Not that she regarded it as a mistake; the conception of their baby was an accident, yes, but she knew now that 'unplanned' was not equal to 'unwanted'.

She just wondered how much the Batman would understand that.

/

Being metaphorically buried in articles, dead ends and fruitless clues was suffocating in and of itself, but with the added pressure that his guardian's rather short visit had put on his shoulders, Robin was finding it hard to cope. It was only a day after the Bat's abrupt departure and he had yet to calm himself down, but he had thrown himself back into the search for Mask nevertheless. He appreciated that he was human and had to rest sometime, but as long as he could stand up and keep his eyes open, he considered himself to be in a fit state to work.

He was tired, though. Leads followed through to nothing and after four solid hours of searching, Robin was no closer to finding the criminal. Determined to make some sort of progress, however, he pursued the useless clues and frozen links until there was a knock on the door.

In his weary state, the leader of the team was startled and jumped a little at the sudden noise. Part of him was half expecting it to be Batman, back to yell at him, but he calmed down quickly and reminded himself that it couldn't be him; the Bat would not knock.

"Come in" he called.

The door opened and in walked his second in command. "Hey, man. You haven't come out of here for hours - you gotta eat something."

"I'm busy. I'll grab something later."

"We both know what that means." Cyborg sighed deeply and walked up to stand at the opposite side of the table, maintaining constant eye contact. "Look, I know that him coming here unsettled you. I get it, the dude can't have been happy to hear about the baby, but ..."

"Cyborg, I ..."

"...You moping around in here isn't gonna do anyone any good. Especially you. We've been through the leads on Man In The Mask a hundred times since his last attack, Robin; there's nothing there. Just leave it and come get something to eat."

Sighing gently, Robin nodded and put down the article he had been studying; he'd read it twenty times anyway and knew it almost off by heart. He followed his friend out of the room silently and wandered into the main room, aware of his friend's watchful eyes even if he was trying to ignore the concern aimed at him.

He pulled out of the fridge the necessary ingredients for making a basic sandwich and prepared a quick snack. It wasn't until he sat down on the sofa that Cyborg moved from his position by the doorway and took a seat next to him. Knowing what was to come, the food in his mouth stopped tasting like ham and lettuce and bread and began to taste of nothing; he had a hard time swallowing it while he listened to his friend speak.

"Raven's been in her room all day. I know you've got a lot going on right now, man, but she needs you. BB tried to get her to come out earlier and she chucked him straight into a wall." A chuckle ran through him and the half-robot added, "must be the mood swings."

Robin made an off-hand noise of agreement, partly because his mouth was full and partly because he didn't know how to reply.

"Anyway, you should go talk to her. You know she ain't gonna come to you asking for help, you're gonna have to go to her" Cyborg continued. "Star tried asking her what exactly was going on but I think she's done asking questions for now. Nobody here's going to ask for answers, Robin, but I think Raven deserves them."

Without any more words, the oldest member of the team rose from his position on the sofa and made his way out of the room, leaving Robin alone with a half finished sandwich and a lot to think about. After sitting in silence for several moments, the leader rose and made his way out of the room, chucking the remains of his meal into the bin as he passed by the kitchen area.

/

She was not sure if the feeling in her abdomen was the movement of the baby or just bitter anticipation building up inside her. Meditation helped a little but it did not bring her the sense of self control that it normally did, so worked up was the half demon. At just over five months, it might well have been simple early movements but she was too worked up to enjoy such a sensation. Being in her room gave her some comfort, knowing that this was her own private space, but it did not allow her to properly relax.

Her lover's old mentor had disappeared. Although Robin had not said as much to her, she could tell that his departure had been unannounced and hurtful; she just wondered whether or not it was surprising. She was stunned that he had not even said goodbye to his former partner, but perhaps Robin was not. She had not seen him in hours and had not thought to ask.

Regardless of the specifics, she knew that the Batman had not been happy to hear that his former sidekick was going to be a teenage father. She didn't know what exactly had been said between the two of them but could gather enough from the waves of discontent that she felt through her bond with Robin that it was not looking good. Raven could only wonder how this might play out over the coming months. Would the Bat be protective over the child or would he ignore it completely? Would he even acknowledge it or cast the child aside as having nothing to do with him? She did not know the man and so could not even guess.

Raven got up from her position on the floor where she had been unsuccessfully meditating for the past hour and a half. Giving it up for the rest of the day as a lost cause, she removed her signature blue cloak, revealing the swell of her stomach, and lay down on her bed. The darkness outside told her that it was time for bed, and she had been tired all day from emotional exhaustion. She would have been happy to go straight to sleep.

However, she had been lying there for only seven or eight minutes when there was a short knock on the door, faint and seemingly hesitant. She groaned quietly and got up, hoping that, for his sake, it was not Beastboy; she had told him to leave her alone earlier and if the shapeshifter had returned to ask her again if she wanted to watch him eat tofu to 'cheer her up', she was not going to be held responsible for her actions. But as she opened the door a crack (just enough to see her visitor) the skin she saw was pale and not green.

"Robin" she murmured, opening the door fully. "What is it?"

"I came to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine."

The two went into her bedroom, the door sliding shut behind them. Raven automatically returned to her bed, but chose this time to sit on the edge. After a brief moment of hesitation, her lover joined her there. The two inches of space between them felt like miles.

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I've been trying to find Mask and getting nowhere all day. I didn't even think to come check on you."

Raven sighed, reading between the lines of what he was telling her. "Robin, don't feel bad about this. It took us time to adjust to the idea of having a baby. It'll take him time, too."

"That's not what this is about."

"Isn't it?" A clear and present challenge. "I know that he left without saying goodbye. Are you trying to tell me that it didn't bother you?"

"It doesn't matter" Robin muttered, knowing that it was pointless to hide this from her. It was morally wrong; she was his lover and the mother of his future child, she was his whole future. It was also a wasted effort: after she had entered his mind to help him fight off Slade, a figment of his imagination triggered by chemicals, a permanent bond had been formed between them and through this bond she could tell when things like this were bothering him, as he could with her. "I wasn't expecting him to like this."

"What did he say to you?"

"He says I need a plan." Robin's expression grew dark, something like a mixture of anger and desperation taking over his features. "As if I didn't already know that."

"He has a point" Raven said, practical as ever. "We really don't have a plan."

"I know."

The Boy Wonder reached out and clasped her hand in his, the tightness of his grip informing her that this worried him even if he would never voice those fears out loud to her. She laced her fingers with his and rested her free hand over her growing child, as if to remind herself why her partner was so stressed and why it was going to be okay in the end.

After a short while, Raven replied, "is he going to get involved?"

Robin looked at her in surprise - of all the questions the poor girl had to have, that hadn't been the one he would have expected her to choose - but answered nonetheless: "He might. I don't know. But I promise, he's not going to take over this. I already told him that this is my life and it's my baby and it's my choice."

His hand began to shake, just a little, in her grasp and she pulled her hand free in order to wrap both her arms around his well built shoulders and guide them both down to a lying position on her bed. Nothing had to be said and no more actions than stroking fingers were required for him to understand and accept her comfort. She couldn't truly understand his dilemma and his inner demons - she didn't know enough - but she could sympathise and this was enough. She cared enough to try, and that was all he needed from her.

They had accepted their own lack of preparation tonight. And it was clear to them both, now, that they had no greater plan for the future than they had shortly after their discovery of the baby's existence. However, they both knew that the unavoidable talks to come would be better had in the morning, when their minds had cleared.

That night, embraces and kisses were shared in the most intimate forms that two people can engage in, and despite their mutual tiredness, it was almost sunrise before the two allowed themselves to drift off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Hazeru - And what of Mask? And the Bat's reaction? Will he interfere?<p>

Hera - Find out in coming chapters. Please R&R!


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